What makes a National Lampoon movie be considered as such?

Lampooning a Nation

A movie can be considered as a 'National Lampoon Movie' when the central character's behaviour serves to exagerate - mainly for comic purposes - the typical and often expected exploits of that person to fulfil his role as the national average man. It is usually humourous but does not necessarily have to be so.

National Lampoon Inc.

National Lampoon was an American humor magazine that began in 1970 as an offshoot of the Harvard Lampoon. It reached its height of popularity in the 1970s, but has had a far-reaching effect on American humor, spawning films, radio, live and television comedy shows.

Since the death of the magazine, National Lampoon Inc. continues to, in the words of its prospectus, "develop, produce, provide creative services and distribute National Lampoon branded comedic content through a broad range of media platforms." These include film projects, a website, a wireless service for mobile phones, and the National Lampoon Network, a two-hour block of weekly programming that is broadcast to various colleges. As of yet, none of these projects has achieved the same level of mainstream or critical success.

Though the magazine essentially exists today only as a logo and a trademark for licensing purposes, its comedic influence on a previous generation of writers and performers was seismic. As co-founder Henry Beard described the experience years later, "There was this big door that said, 'Thou shalt not.' We touched it, and it fell off its hinges."

National Lampoon movies:

Disco Beaver from Outer Space'' (1978) (TV)

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982)

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1983)

National Lampoon’s Joy of Sex (1984)

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon (1993)

National Lampoon's Last Resort(1994)

National Lampoon's Senior Trip (1995)

Vegas Vacation (1997)

Golf Punks (1998)

Men in White (1998) (TV)

Van Wilder (2002)

Repli-Kate (2002)

Blackball (2003)

National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (2003)

Dorm Daze (2003)

National Lampoon's Barely Legal

Thanksgiving Family Reunion (2003)

Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003)

Going the Distance (2004)

Adam & Eve (2005)

Strip Poker (2005)

Teed Off (2005)

Pucked (2006)

National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2006)

Last Guy On Earth (2006)

Van Wilder 2 (2006)

Dorm Daze 2 (2006)

TV the movie (2007)

Teed Off Too (2007)

First answer by Ksmail. Last edit by Ksmail. Contributor trust: 1660 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 24 [recommend question]