Directed by:
Harold RamisScreenplay:
John HughesCinematography:
Victor J. KemperComposer:
Ralph BurnsCast:
Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, Eddie Bracken, James Keach, Eugene Levy, Frank McRae, John Candy (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
The Griswold family, father Clark W., wife Ellen, daughter Audrey and son Rusty, set out in high spirit to spend their vacation driving cross-country from Chicago to a glorious climax in Walley World on the West Coast. The trip which Clark planned down to the minute, slowly loses its smoothness from the moment the first grain of sand gets in. A meeting with constantly-in-debt, simple-minded cousin Eddie results in the Griswold family giving cantankerous aunt Edna a lift to Phoenix. Of course, the Griswolds receive one strike of bad luck after another, and when they finally arrive at Walley World, they have to find out that the park is closed for maintenance. But Clark promised his beloved family the best vacation ever... (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (4)
The first adventure of the Griswold family, and ironically, the last one I watched. The premise is very American: a family road trip across the country to reach a dream amusement park. The humor is pretty standard, nothing to really criticize. Plus, John Candy as the terrified security guard is a nice bonus.
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Much of the humour is too simple in an American way, but there are some good scenes. I used to like Vacation a lot more, but I can’t say why. Christmas Vacation is still unsurpassed.
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Decent entertainment that relies on a likeable cast and serves a really large number of gags in a small space, but it doesn't surprise with anything in terms of story and, despite the crazy nature of most of the twists and turns, we remember very little of it after a while. If I have to reach for the Griswolds, Christmas Vacation will always be a more welcome alternative…
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Chevy Chase really doesn't click with me, and there were times I probably told him to shut up already. But similar to this year's remake/sequel, I thought there were scenes that were incredibly entertaining. There just aren't that many of them, and a lot of them come off as really awkward, but I still had fun in places.
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