Vacation




I'm not your average fool.

The success of Vacation garnered three sequels and a slew of imitators. The franchise would later hit its peak at the third installment with Christmas Vacation.

This year the Griswolds are spending their two weeks of vacation on a cross country trek to Wally World. They're led by Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase), who's out to have the most fun possible with his family or die trying. And it nearly comes to that as they endure tourist traps, alluring Ferraris and relatives that make Clark seem normal in comparison. The Griswold entourage includes his wife (Beverly D'Angelo) and the kids (Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Baron).

Though in retrospect things might have gone a lot worse, Vacation was a pioneer of family disaster movies. Certainly, a lot of the jokes here would continue to be reworked until they became industry standards. Here, they seem a bit contained and dated compared to other instances where they've been used better. But age quibbles aside, this flick by no means lacks humor. The Griswolds stumble through trouble faster than they do states. The highlights include a ten-minute break at Cousin Eddie's (Randy Quaid) hovel, a scenic tour through St. Louis' more "scenic" areas and some car trouble in Arizona. Probably what works the best is the restraint shown in the incidents they encounter, as the next in line slightly tops the last until the grand finale.

Harold Ramis was fairly new as a director back then, only having Caddyshack under his belt. But he brings Hughes' script to life and has an eye for capturing the tourist spirit.

This is certainly Chevy's archetypical role. Clark may be a little nerdy and prone to fraying when things go awry, but he's only trying his best to enjoy his time with the family. Beverly D'Angelo plays his loyal but far more resolute wife, Ellen. Anthony Michael Hall was just a squirt with braces back then and Dana Baron made for a cute Audrey. There's also plenty of room for some great bits from Quaid, Imogene Coca and John Candy.

A lot of fun is to be had with the original Vacation, which remains the second best one in my book.



-The Gnome