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It was a report that colossally misnamed “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’s” infamous Cousin Eddie as “Uncle Eddie.”
Geez! There’s no such thing as Uncle Eddie in the holiday classic.
Nonetheless, it was a bit of a thrill for Long Islanders to see Jason Orsani’s Smithtown home showcased on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this week for its massive “Christmas Vacation” holiday lights display.
“It is, ‘Tis the Season to be Clark Griswold,” ‘GMA’ reporter Will Reeve said to open the segment on Thursday. “That’s especially true for one homeowner on Long Island who is channeling his obsession with the movie ‘Christmas Vacation’ by making his home a pilgrimage for those obsessed with the movie.”
Orsani’s homage to his favorite holiday movie of all time was first reported in Greater Long Island. Orsini told us that he turned a childhood fascination into a passion project.
Long Island dad brings ‘Christmas Vacation’ to life with epic Griswold tribute
In bringing the Griswold world to life in his front yard, Orsani incorporated 25,000 twinkling lights to help recreate iconic scenes from the movie. The centerpiece is a full-size replica of Cousin Eddie’s rundown and rusted RV, painted to match the movie version.
There’s also a spot-on version of Griswold’s iconic station wagon with an oversized Christmas tree strapped to its roof, a life-sized Clark Griswold figure tangled in a string of Christmas lights and hanging from the roof’s edge, and a lifelike mannequin of Cousin Eddie, who in the “Vacation” movies is actually the main character Clark Griswold’s cousin-in-law.
Fun-filled report
GMA features all of this in its minute-plus report, which had ‘GMA’ hosts Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos laughing and cracking jokes throughout.
But nobody seemed the wiser about Reeve’s “Uncle Eddie” gaffe.
“This is dedication,” Reeve says. “Don’t worry. A ‘Christmas Vacation’ wouldn’t be complete without Uncle Eddie and his RV.”
Actually, it would.
