Is It Worth Watching Utica’s Chevy Chase Movie, The Christmas Letter?

Is it worth paying the rental fee of a few dollars to see the movie made in Utica with Chevy Chase called The Christmas Letter? Well, it's not winning an Oscar - but it is worth it.

There's a Christmas movie that has many similarities to the holiday classic, Christmas Vacation, that's being filmed in Utica currently. Now, a 3rd popular actor from that 1989 National Lampoon Film has joined the current cast.

Brian Doyle Murray, brother of SNL legend Bill Murray, was the last biog celebrity to join the filming in Utica for the new movie, A Christmas Letter. And the leaser known Murray, plays a great part. Murray, who played the role of Clark Griswold's boss who was kidnapped by Randy Quaid's character, Cousin Eddie, after he failed to give a Christmas bonus to Griswold on Christmas Eve.

Murray is no stranger to Utica. in 1983, Brian Doyle Murray and his brother Bill were part owners of the Utica Blue Sox of the New York Penn League. The Murrays spent much of the summer following the "Boys of Summer" in a year that they would miraculously win the Penn League Championship. It's also the year Roger Kahn owned part of the team and immortalized the crazy season in his book, Good Enough to Dream.

The movie filmed in Utica was written by Michael Cunningham, an Ilion, NY native who now lives in Rochester. The story is about a man who receives a Christmas letter each year from a wealthier friend who brags about his annual accomplishments. The man decides to "top his friend" by taking his family on a vacation they'll never forget.

Chase, Quaid and Murray are expected to have smaller cameo roles in the movie which are expected to reference the movie, Christmas Vacation. However, producers have confirmed rewrites have been crafted after adding, at the very least, Quaid to the filming project. And the edits seemed to work, showing Utica in a great light.

Utica Film Commissioner Paul Buckley says filming lasted for about three months in Utica and and ended in January of last year. "People have been wonderful," said Buckley, who helps facilitate the needs of producers during their stay in the Upstate New York City.