A Montreal holiday tradition is returning to Club Soda with the participatory screening of Le sapin a des boules.
From December 18 to 21 – with afternoon and evening shows – 19 actors will perform live, recreating iconic scenes from the French-dubbed version of classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” – featuring the Griswold family.
“It’s just something really fun about it, and since we’re all living it together It really gives that special Christmas feeling, and everyone comes out energized and with a huge smile,” said Jarrett Mann, the director of Le sapin a des boules and co-founder of the SPASM short film festival.
Actor and musician Simon Pelletier-Gilbert has been playing the role of Clark Griswold since the very first edition in 2019. After a two-year break during the COVID-19 pandemic, the show resumed in 2023, adding more performances each year.
“We’re going big with five representations, and it’s almost also sold out again,” said Pelletier-Gilbert.
As much as Pelletier-Gilbert prefers watching movies in their original version, he says the French actors who dubbed this film added a layer of satire that helped boost the film’s popularity in Quebec.
“The French version of this movie is just so much better,” said Pelletier-Gilbert.
The best part? Everyone is part of the show. Expect lots of clapping, singing, and laughter from the audience, making it a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas celebration.
“We encourage people to yell. To scream, they have to yell ‘Cadeaux’, ‘Ayoye’, ‘Bisous’ at specific times during the film —at the end, where everyone gets up and cheers and wishes each other Merry Christmas, even people that don’t know each other— plus with the actors on the screen. The film is literally coming out of the screen and coming from the crowd.” said Mann.
In 2024, the movie marked its 35th anniversary, and the Le sapin a des boules crew welcomed its original filmmaker, Montreal-born Jeremiah Chechik—now based in Los Angeles—to experience the pop culture anthem his film has become.
“For him, it was a blast. He couldn’t believe it. He was shocked. It was so beautiful to watch to see him so emotional,” said Pelletier-Gilbert.
Mann added, “He came, and he just had an emotional experience reconnecting with his roots —with Quebec. Being greeted as a Quebecois, by this French crowd, that we’re cheering him on and giving him an ovation. He said, it changed him.”
“To anyone who hasn’t seen the event yet, come on by this year. If not this year, next year, it’s really a new Montreal tradition.”
For more information, including how to by tickets, visit the Club Soda website.
