CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Four => Big Ten => Topic started by: Gigem on August 08, 2026, 01:05:19 PM
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(6) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation vs. (11) Lethal Weapon
(6) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark’s lights, the Christmas bonus, Cousin Eddie, the squirrel, the sled, and dozens of quotable scenes gave Christmas Vacation a cultural life far beyond its original release. Its annual holiday rewatchability has made it one of the most enduring comedies produced during the decade. It received a middle seed because its identity is more specifically Christmas than broadly ’80s.
(11) Lethal Weapon (1987)
Buddy-cop chemistry, Los Angeles, practical stunts, action, humor, Mel Gibson, and Danny Glover helped establish one of the defining action franchises of the era. Riggs and Murtaugh became lasting characters, and the movie’s blend of danger, comedy, and partnership influenced action films for years afterward.
(https://i.imgur.com/VJaDap0.jpeg)
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LW for its sheer 80sness.
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Another two great ones
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Tough matchup. Lethal Weapon takes it for me, from the sheer magnificence of Mel Gibson's mullet.
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Another two great ones
I don't even remember how I voted now. Obviously a toss-up for me.
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This was a tough call for me, but as I think through it, Lethal Weapon is an underrated movie for its 80s-ish-ness. It checks a lot of pure 80s boxes. And it's a great action movie in its own right. And Christmas Vacation is a great movie, and an iconic holiday movie, which, in some ways cuts against its 80s-ish-ness. The fact that people still turn to it today for holiday tradition shows that it was a lot more than just the 1980s. Of course, Lethal Weapon is still a great action movie, too, so...
Close call, but Lethal Weapon for me.
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I'll call this one and unpin it.