In the Chevy Chase Vacation movies, just how is Cousin Eddie related to the Griswolds?
Wikipedia describes them as “Ellen’s cousins Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and Eddie (Quaid).”
Given the generally redneck nature of their family, I really don’t want to parse that too closely.
I forget which movie it was, but Ellen at some point mentions that she hardly ever gets to see her cousin Catherine. I always understood that Eddie’s wife Catherine was Ellen’s cousin, making Eddie a cousin-in-law.
Yes, and Eddie is referred to as “my cousin-in-law, whose heart is bigger than his brain” by Clark in Christmas Vacation.
“I don’t know why they call this stuff ‘Hamburger Helper;’ it does just fine on its own.”
“Real tomato ketchup, Eddie?”
“Nothin’ but the best.”
“Fried pussycat!”
“Yeah, the eldest daughter’s in the clinic gettin’ cured off the Wild Turkey.”
Eddie: “…And, the older boy, bless his soul, is preparing for his career.”
Clark: “College?”
Eddie: “Carnival.”
Hick Cousin, “… and, I french kiss!”
Audrey, “So, everybody does that”
Hick Cousin, “Yeah, but my daddy says I’m the best!”
BTW, the girl who played the hick cousin daughter (in the first movie), Jane Krakowski, is a reasonably successful actress now (Ally McBeal, 30 Rock)…