National Lampoons Vacation, American Vacation
Every summer Chevy Chase takes his family on a little trip. This year he went too far.
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 98 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
On DVD
When youre a movie reviewer, there are certain sentences that you use very rarely, if at all. I wish thered been more scenes involving Ashton Kutcher is one of them. Quentin Tarantino really needs to overcome his fear of violence is another. Perhaps the most sparingly-used of them all, however, is the short but to-the-point Chevy Chase is fantastic. I know thats one that Ive certainly never typed out before now and, had I not been given the chance to review National Lampoons Vacation, I probably never would. Yet, in this early showcase of what 80s movie maestro John Hughes could do with a pen, its a sentence thats strangely true.
Chevy plays the dippy-eyed Clark Griswold, head of a family comprising mum Ellen (Beverly DAngelo), son Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). Its holiday time, and theyre determined to have as much enforced fun as possible as they undertake the mammoth drive from their Chicago home to the distinctly Disneyland-esque Walley World in California. Sounds simple enough or at least it will if youve never in your life a) seen a road movie or b) spent any lengthy amount of time trapped in a car with your nearest and dearest.
So, of course, everything that can go wrong invariably does, and a whole lot besides. Theres nothing massively surprising here (the National Lampoons name tagged onto the title effectively promises as much) and, as tends to be the case with road flicks, the general premise often seems little more than an excuse to throw together a procession of tenuously-linked sketches. After all, what more credible way is there for a movie to introduce characters for a joke or two and then dump them, never to be seen or mentioned again, without being criticised for it? Theres little doubting, then, that Hughes would go on to write some considerably sharper, more insightful comedy (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buellers Day Off and Planes, Trains & Automobiles would all come from his typewriter in the years that followed).
Nonetheless, as an out-and-out provoker of chuckles, Vacation is an undoubted success. And, to take me back to my original point, its largely due to the performance of Mr Chase. His delivery, his reactions to whats going on around him, and his general demeanour are all spot on. There might be an entire family along for the ride, but make no mistake about it: this is Chevys movie.
It's Got: A tough little mutt, a child born without a tongue, and a stack of nudey books THIS high!!
It Needs: An eye to be kept peeled for the many notable cameo appearances, including John Candy, Eugene Levy, Randy Quaid, Brian Doyle-Murray and Christie Brinkley.
DVD Extras A bit like Walley World, the extras on this version are non-existent. Version reviewed: National Lampoons Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition) from Amazon.com DVD Extras Rating: 0/10
Summary
Happy holidays indeed provided you sit and watch the Griswolds escapades from the comfort of your own home, and dont try to go with them.