Movie Review — National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Release Date: July 29th, 1983
Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, and Dana Barron
Director: Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Analyze This, Bedazzled, Analyze That, The Ice Harvest, Year One)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Runtime: 1 hr 38 min
John Hughes and Chevy Chase were an epitome of the 1980s. The biggest film that put Chevy on the map was 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation.
From the Family Truckster, to Wally World, to the quirky family experiences, there was a magic between Chase’s and Hughes’ enigma of filmmaking that perpetuated through the time of American family’s watching for numerous decades forward.
The original Vacation (1983) starts out casually with the Griswold family riding along to a desired theme park, Wally World — after purchasing their infamous car from a once lesser known Eugene Levy — with Clark and Ellen singing family roadside jingles as their children Rusty and Audrey listen to “Blitzkreg Bop,” on the way from Chicago to California.
To get to the film’s famous highlights, who can forget Six Flags set as Wally World? Or Christy Brinkley in her corvette down the road along with Clark in another scene dancing to her with his sandwich (that was actually all improved by Chase). Not to mention, Clark getting ripped off on his car repair after giving his Cousin Eddy an unexpected loan at his RV home? “How much do you need, Eddy…”
The best part of the John Hughes’ written and Harold Ramis directed National Lampoon’s Vacation (and every entry of the franchise) is the cozy, humorous vibe of the ridiculous, zany script combined with Chevy Chase’s performance as Clark Griswold — a family loving, immensely eager, occasionally angry, funny father figure striving to succeed on his mission to take his family to the best theme park in the country — Wally World.
The wonderfully shot Vacation movie is all about Clark getting to Wally World with Ellen, Rusty and Audrey and the sparks of all of the characters we encounter along the way. Randy Quaid does a fine job as the quirky cousin Eddy. Imogene Coca’s Aunt Edna character with Clark’s family is memorable and how could one forget the last act of the film with the perfectly fit John Candy as Wally World’s hostage security guard?
All of the performances are great — in fact, this base of the film’s quality makes up for any lackluster points in the production (there really aren’t that many weak spots in National Lampoon’s Vacation, whatsoever). Beverly D’Angelo is fittingly cast in her first of what has now been five roles as Clark’s concerned wife along with Anthony Michael Hall with the breakthrough performance of his career as Rusty Griswold.
In conclusion, one of Chevy Chase’s best known films is worth repeat viewing for anyone looking for a crude laugh and nostalgic 1980s vibe.
Overall Score:
4-Star Scale: 3.5 stars
Grade on Report Card: A-
Out of 10: 8.5 out of 10
Out of 100: 85
