Vacation (1983)

Poster from the Internet Movie Database
What do you get when you mix Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, John Hughes, Randy Quaid, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Imogene Coca, Eugene Levy, John Candy, and many more? You get National Lampoon's Vacation, a comic treat from Ramis and Hughes.

Chase plays bumbling father Clark Griswold, who works with food additives. He decides to take his family on a road trip from their home town of Chicago to Wally World amusement park in California. Wally World is from a popular T.V. show about a talking animal. Three guesses on who that's a parody of, and the first two don't count. Clark's wife Ellen (D'Angelo) wants to fly out, and so do his kids, Rusty and Audrey (Hall and Dana Barron). Who does want to be in a car for 5600 miles (round trip)? Just so you know-they don't get there safe and sound.

Chase is in top form as Clark. You can imagine no one else in that role. His comedy is funny, and a certain cockiness (as being the father figure) he brings to Clark is great, too. He's not the best actor in the world, but he still brings out laughs. Hughes's script is right on target; it's not mean-spirited or cruel. And the way the cast pulls it off is hilarious.

D'Angelo is good as the typical wife. She brings common sense to Clark's wacky behavior. Hall and Barron are great as the kids who bicker with each other, and I really like Quaid as Clark's cousin Eddie.

As I've said before, Hughes's script isn't fat jokes and gross-out body functions, it's the introduction of the American Family to out-of-the-ordinary situations. Sure, some of the plot is outlandish, even unbelievable. But when you watch the other three movies in this series, it looks like a walk in the park.

I loved Coca as complaining Aunt Edna who comes along for the ride. Her sarcastic humor brings a new style of the movie. We have plain, kind jokes. We have jokes about swearing. And now we have jokes with sarcasm. She is really great.

I love Ramis and the movies he directed (in exception to Caddyshack). I feel that some of his movies are underrated (Bedazzled, for instance). Vacation isn't underrated much, but I'm surprised it hasn't got a bigger following or higher reviews. But, you can tell it's him, and it's a great movie (which could only be done with Ramis and Hughes together) that needs to be watched again and again.

Rated R for some language, nudity, and drug use.

Review Date: September 6, 2002