Vacation (1983)

OK so I guess you can't really call it a family movie because it's rated R. But that family movie presence is still there.

Anyway, what can I say about National Lampoons Vacation. It's probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. If you don't even laugh at ONE of the jokes, you're not human. I'll admit, there is some crude humor but most of it should, at the very least, make you chuckle. Chevy Chase is outstanding and is probably the funniest character in the movie.

It may be a bit old but it's a classic and I enjoy watching it.

10/10

Fmovies: "Getting there is half the fun", says bland family man Clark, head of the bland suburban family, the Griswolds. He's rationalizing why the family will drive from Illinois, instead of fly, to Wally World, a moose-centered family amusement park in California. What makes this film enjoyable is that the Griswolds are so typical of banal American suburban family values.

Clark (Chevy Chase) is a good-natured sap, gullibly idealistic, and conforming. His meek wife (well played by Beverly D'Angelo) looks up to Clark. Their two teenage kids are dull blockheads, patterned after their dull parents. The boy wears ugly dental braces.

Their mode of travel is a prehistoric, humorously ugly, putrid green station wagon with cheesy brown panels. The Griswolds blast off with unlimited optimism and good-natured anticipation of the fun they will have at Wally World. But the optimism gradually fades and is replaced by grim determination after a series of on-the-road disasters that make a mockery of idealism.

The film's humor lies in its absurd plot situations, and in the dialogue. At a cookout, a down-on-his-luck Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) treats the Griswolds to backyard burgers, then remarks to Clark: "I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself".

Casting is appropriate. Overall acting trends humorously exaggerated, consistent with the satire. Performances by Imogene Coca and John Candy add to the comedy. The bouncy song "Holiday Road" opens the film with a series of vintage American postcards in tandem with the opening credits.

My only reservation is that some of the plot contrivances are a bit over-the-top. The writers seem to be trying a little too hard.

"Vacation" is a satire on the banality of the traditional American summer ritual, and therefore thematically rich. Production values are fine. Though not perfect, this film is worth watching.

One of my all time favorite movies I own. One of Chevy Chase's finest movie besides The 3 Amigos. It seems that Chevy Chase lost his humor after 3 Amigos. But this movie here had everything you could ask for a comedy, and I've seen a number of them. I'd also like to see Dana Barron (Audrey Griswald) in more movies, cause what a hottie she is. And the rest of the cast did a superb job in making this early '80s movie a box office hit; and I would highly recommend anybody to watch this movie, even if it is for the first time.

Vacation fmovies. National Lampoons Vacation is an absolute classic Chevy Chase film. Chevy (as Clark) is, a very funny lad. Americans are capable of comedy, although are yet to master the British and their achievements in this genre. Each time I watch this film the delivery in Chevy's lines becomes funnier. The absolute classic for the movie is when Clarke talks about the Mississippi River and then the St Louis Arch.

The cross country adventures are taken to extremes with great characters such as cousin Eddy at times stealing big Chevy's thunder. Don't be fooled, I'm not suggesting anyone deserved an Oscar. However, when you watch a comedy and it is comical then they have to be doing something right. If your a fan of Chevy then you will have seen this film so i suggest you go and watch it again.

In Illinois, Chicago, the suburban Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) decides to travel on vacation with his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) and their son Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and their daughter Audrey (Dana Barron) driving his new station wagon to the Walley World theme park in California. Ellen and the children suggest that they fly to the destination, but the stubborn Clark wants to spend more time with his family and say no to the proposed airplane travel.

The Griswold family has many problems along their journey and they visit Ellen's cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn), her useless husband Eddie (Randy Quaid) and their children. When they leave the place, they are forced to give a ride to the inconvenient Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) and her hateful dog. Soon Clark learns that his planned journey has become a trip from hell.

"Vacation" is a hilarious road movie that makes anyone laughs. The clumsy Clark Griswold provokes very funny situations with his attitudes, supported by his beautiful wife. Unfortunately this type of naive comedy is forgotten by the studios on the present days. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Férias Frustradas" ("Frustrated Vacation")

Clark Griswold ignores his family's pleas to go to Hawaii for their summer vacation and opts for the Walley World resort in California instead. His long-suffering wife Ellen wants to fly, but Clark would rather drive and spend time with the kids he hardly ever sees.

Sounds like a simple journey from A to B right? Wrong! The Griswolds are a gene pool of absolute disaster and nothing...NOTHING goes right...ever. The fun begins with Clark being forced to accept a disgusting metallic pea-green family truckster instead of a cool-blue sports model with CB and optional fun pack. It's literally the most hideous car in the history of automobiles (and that includes the car that Homer Simpson made for his brother Herb).

As the lengthy days on the road pass, Clark is ripped-off by street hustlers, guilt-tripped out of $500 from his hick cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid in what is, begrudgingly, his most popular role), ripped-off by a hick sheriff/mechanic, and tempted by gorgeous blonde in a Ferrari. Though Ellen doesn't take kindly to anyone with an eye on her Sparky (actually D'Angelo's pet name for Chevy Chase and not something that was scripted).

Based on John Hughes' ill-fated trip to Disneyworld when he was five-years-old, Vacation brought us Chevy Chase's most famous character (sorry Fletch) and most successful series. He has absolutely perfect chemistry with Beverly D'Angelo, who, with her large eyeballs and perfect timing, is an under-rated comic actress in her own right.

While I absolutely love the first and third movies in the Vacation series, and both definitely score 10/10, I have to say the original is the best as it has a really dark edge that none of the others have. There's virtually nothing in Vacation that isn't funny. Harold Ramis, fresh off the absolute anarchy of Caddyshack, keeps a tight, sadistic reign on the disastrous road trip. If you have a dark sense of humor and enjoy evil comedy then you'll love Vacation. It was one of the first movies I ever saw and it helped turn me into the misanthropic, dysfunctional, ghoulish misfit that I am today.

Thank you, Vacation! Thank you!