Did Chris Colombus Make ‘Home Alone’ out of Spite After Leaving ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’?

In December 1989, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation opened at the box office. A bit less than a year later, Home Alone premiered. The two classic Christmas movies have a fair bit in common, including where they are set and who wrote them. John Hughes is responsible for penning both flicks. Did you know that Chris Colombus, the director of Home Alone, was originally attached to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, though? Over the years, some fans have theorized that Colombus directed Home Alone out of spite when he felt forced to quit National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation because of Chevy Chase. That might not be the case, but there are a couple of elements of Home Alone that you could argue were digs at Chase’s character, Clark Griswold. 

Chris Colombus quit ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ because of Chevy Chase 

Chris Colombus was set to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989. He was excited about the project. The director even shot outdoor scenes before the cast appeared on set. Then he was no longer interested. For years, there were quiet murmurings about what led Colombus away from the Christmas classic. 

In 2015, the famed director sat down for a chat with Chicago Magazine about Home Alone. He recalled his brief time working on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation during the interview. Colombus said he had met with Chevy Chase during pre-production and was unimpressed. They sat down for a second meeting not long after. Colombus noted that Chase was so difficult to work with and downright awful to him that he immediately called up John Hughes and quit the film. 

Chase’s behavior left such an indelible mark on Colombus that he was concerned about meeting John Candy the following year. Candy and Chase had worked together, and Colombus was concerned Candy would be like Chase. He was not. Candy appeared briefly in Home Alone, but the interactions were good ones for Colombus.   

Did Chris Colombus throw shade at Chevy Chase in ‘Home Alone’? 

Colombus has only spoken about Chase at length a handful of times. Still, he still doesn’t seem crazy about the actor decades after he last interacted with him. Was it enough for Colombus to throw shade at the actor’s beloved character in his own Christmas classic? 

Colombus and John Hughes had a good working relationship, so it doesn’t seem like Colombus made the movie out of spite, or, at the very least, he didn’t make the film to knock National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation off the classic Christmas movie list. There is a theory that he took the opportunity to poke some fun at Chevy Chase and his infamous Clark Griswold, though. 

Several fans suspect Peter McCallister’s cheap brother, Frank McCalister, might have been an exagerated and more obnoxious version of Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold. Some Reddit users even believe Peter McCalister is a more successful version of Clark, although the evidence of that is sparse. 

So, in short, it doesn’t seem that Chris Colombus made the movie out of spite. It appears he was simply interested in making a Christmas comedy with a cast he liked. His short time on the set of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation did eventually lead him to Home Alone. It’s likely that the bad experience did alter the way he directed the film. Which flick is better comes down to personal preference.