"Christmas Vacation "Stars Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid Reunite in a New Holiday Film That's a 'Dream Come True' (Exclusive)

12/24/2024 04:00 PM

Angus Benfield leads the movie about a man working to live up to the Christmas letter of a rival

"Christmas is a time for family and friends to bond, being together and being loving and grateful for what you have," Randy Quaid tells PEOPLE.

But in The Christmas Letter, that all goes out the window as an unemployed father named Joe Michaels (Angus Benfield) works to one-up his friend's annual Christmas letter.

"He's someone who's been a bit of an underdog, struggling," Benfield tells PEOPLE. "It's pretty easy to relate to that, especially being an independent filmmaker and actor. It didn't take a lot of research to remind yourself of what it's like to maybe not have everything that someone else has in life."

He continues, "My family and I, we had some pretty lean Christmases, we had some where we really needed that sort of Christmas miracle. So that's what kind of drove me to this film — it can be hard when you get to this time of year because there are some financial strains, and status anxiety when you see someone else is doing better than you. It's very relatable."

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For Quaid, "I found the role very funny," the 74-year-old shares. Plus, "Chevy was doing it — so why not?"

Yes, the film reunites National Lampoon's Christmas Vacationcostars Chevy Chase, 81, and Quaid, who starred together in the beloved 1989 film.

"Chevy and I are best friends on and off screen — I laugh just looking at him," says Quaid. "And Angus is very funny and talented. What could be better?"

For Benfield, working with actors he calls "legends" was "a dream come true."

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"It was great seeing those two together," he says. "Their bond is already there and they just got on like a house on fire."

He remembers one day in particular filming with Quaid, both freezing in the Vermont winter cold as he "was just throwing packages at me. There were lots of really fun scenes."

Despite some nerves on his end, as he admits, "at the end of the day everyone was really relaxed," he recalls.

"Chevy was there with his daughter, and it was fun to watch that father-daughter bickering over how to deliver lines," he says. "I try not to think about it too much in the moment, because I don't want to distract from the scene, so I kind of just try to distract myself while shooting, and then afterwards I can freak out."

For Benfield, who also produced the film, he hopes audiences take away a reminder of "what's really important in life."

"Obviously," he says, "it's your family and friends and what you have as opposed to what you don't have. That's the true message of Christmas."