National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of the funniest, silliest Christmas movies ever made, while also being very sweet. So it’s only fitting that the movie found an all new way to entertain us the holiday season in a manner that is both hilarious and touching. The Heerlein family in Austin, Texas decorated their house with a replica Clark Griswold dummy hanging from their roof’s gutters, with a tipped over ladder below him. It’s an ingenious, fantastic tribute to a Christmas classic, but the display had one issue, a problem worthy of the film’s slapstick comedy of errors: it was too convincing, and a kind, very worried passerby came rushing over to save the dummy.
It might seem obvious this isn’t an actual person from close up, but from the street it’s not quite as clear, especially if you don’t recognize how the dummy is dressed…or don’t know Christmas Vacation.
Those who know the movie well might have known what it was immediately, but when a retired veteran named Alfred saw “Clark” hanging, he came running over in a frenzy doing everything he could to get the ladder underneath him, even calling 911 for help. The home security footage of his rescue attempt is the embodiment of the word amazing.
Someone get that wonderful man a medal and a copy of the movie. And don’t worry about laughing at his heroic efforts, he did too when he talked to KVUE about it. Plus, the Heerlein family reached out to him personally to thank him and give him a gift for caring so much.
Which means this entire incident, which is hysterical, sweet, and worthy of being rewatched a million times, now qualifies as a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation sequel.
Featured Image: Warner Bros.
