| | | Chevy's at the Wheel -- and All Roads Lead to Laughter!
Features: DVD
Everything is planned, everything is packed, everything will go hilariously wrong: The Griswolds are going on vacation! The Ultimate Vacation Collection from National Lampoon includes VACATION, EUROPEAN VACATION, CHRISTMAS VACATION, and VEGAS VACATION!VACATION: Everything is planned. Everything is packed. And everything is about to go hilariously wrong. The Griswolds are going on vacation. In the driver's seat, of course, is Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), an Everyman eager to share the open road and the wonders of family togetherness with his wife and kids. Myriad mishaps, crude kin (Randy Quaid), encounters with a temptress (Christie Brinkley), financial woes, Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) on the roof, one security guard (John Candy) and 2,460 miles later, it is indeed a wonder the Griswolds are together. There's never been a family vacation like it. Except perhaps for yours. And that helps explain why NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION remains so popular...and so very funny. EUROPEAN VACATION: The first time the Griswolds took a trip -- in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION -- moviegoers everywhere went along for the ride...and went bonkers! Now, they're into even zanier sightseeing in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S EUROPEAN VACATION, directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont High). Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen, winners of a European tour on which their teenagers Rusty (Jason Lively) and Audrey (Dana Hill) join them. Deluxe accommodations...don't. Clark tries left-sided English driving, leaving Stonehenge unhinged. In Bavaria a slap-dancing polka turns into a slaphappy free-for-all. It's holiday road havoc for the Griswolds -- and your high road to hilarity! CHRISTMAS VACATION: This holiday season Clark Griswold vows his clan will enjoy "the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever." Before you can sing "Fa-la-la-la-lah," he decks the halls with howls of folly in the perennial favorite NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION. Seeing is believing. There are 25,000 lights on the roof. An exploding turkey on the dining room table. A SWAT team taking siege outside. A festive supporting cast and a John Hughes script full of wit, heart and sheer goofiness. Yule love it! VEGAS VACATION: When Clark Griswold puts his mind to something, we soon realize he hasn't got one. Still, nothing stops him when the vacation bug hits. This time he's chosen Las Vegas, the family entertainment capital of America! Chevy Chase returns as bubbly, bumbling Clark in VEGAS VACATION, a jokers-are-wild laughfest including two other stars from past Vacations. Beverly D'Angelo is back as wife Ellen, doting on the guy she calls "Sparky," and Randy Quaid again delights as grubby goofball Cousin Eddie. Ethan Embry (That Thing You Do!) and screen-debuting Marisol Nichols are Griswold teens who love the round-the-clock nightlife -- as long as they don't share it with mom and dad! From Siegfried and Roy's extravaganza to a Hoover dam tour, from cruising to losing (Wallace Shawn as a shifty blackjack dealer) to amorous crooning (Wayne Newton falls for Ellen), watch Clark try to keep family and wallet together!
"[European] A silly, funny sequel." Newhouse Newspapers
"[Vacation] Have a good laugh. I liked taking this Vacation." Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
"[Christmas Vacation] I laughed myself silly. Christmas Vacation jingled my bells!" Pia Lindstrom, WNBC-TV
"[Vegas] A winner. This fourth Vacation is clearly the best!" Boston Herald
"[Vegas Vacation] ...a non-stop, belly-laughing comedy...Vegas Vacation is pure entertainment fun from beginning to end." Britt Gillette, The DVD Report
"[European Vacation] Another great Vacation movie." Fred Topel, About.com
"[Vacation] Constantly hilarious, with a comic supporting cast to die for." Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
"[Vegas Vacation] A winner. This fourth Vacation is clearly the best." Paul Sherman, Boston Herald
"[European Vacation] A silly, funny sequel." Richard Freedman, Newhouse Newspapers
"[Christmas Vacation] The ultimate family holiday film, playing on both the heart strings and the horror to capture a genuine Christmas spirit." Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Editor's Note
A collection of four hilarious ill-fated Griswold family vacations. Includes: NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S EUROPEAN VACATION (WB HITS), NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (WB HITS), and VEGAS VACATION. See individual titles for complete synopses and credits.
| Features | [all] Widescreen Version Enhanced For 16x9 TVs | | [Christmas] Audio: English Dolby Surround, French Mono | | [Christmas, Vegas] Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | [Vegas] Audio: English, French Dolby 5.1 Surround | | [Vacation, European] Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese | | [European] Audio Commentary With Chevy Chase | | [European] Audio: English Dolby 5.1 Surround, French Mono | | [all] Scene Selection | | [all] Theatrical Trailer | | [Vacation] Audio: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese Mono | | [Vacation] Feature-Length Griswold Family Audio Commentary By Chase, Quaid, Simmons, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, And Director Harold Ramis | | [Vacation] All New Introduction By Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, And Producer Matty Simmons | | [all] Interactive Menus |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 11/11/2008 |
| Catalog ID: 28806 | | UPC: 00085392880621 | | Number of Discs: 4 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | James Berardinelli's ReelViews 3 of 10
Vegas Vacation is at its most energetic when Chase isn't on screen. The young actors playing the Griswold children, Marisol Nichols and Ethan Embry, are likable, and, from time-to- time, they manage to enliven this otherwise lame comedy. Wayne Newton's smarmy self-parody might have been amusing if we hadn't seen it already (he was funnier in Licence to Kill), and Sid Ceasar's cameo, which is supposed to be a comic highlight, is dreadfully unfunny. What we really needed from this film was more humor and less filler. It's not too much of a gamble to bet that Vegas Vacation is on the fast track to the video store. Hopefully, this is the last trip we'll have to take with the Griswolds. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 5 of 10
[Christmas] Chevy Chase, playing Clark Griswold once again, is lovable and dogged in his determination to provide an ideal Christmas for his family. Beverly D'Angelo, that sunny and underrated screen comedian, is a loving wife. And Randy Quaid does what he can with the thankless role of Cousin Eddie, whose secret is that he and the family are actually living in that crappy old motor home, a shack on wheels, and don't have a dime to spend on Christmas. All of these actors do what they can, but the rhythm and pacing of the movie don't help them much. - Roger Ebert
The DVD Report 8 of 10
[European Vacation] Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation, sequel to the original Vacation movie and precursor to the holiday classic Christmas Vacation. Like the other films, this edition contains different cast members to play the roles of Griswold children Audrey (Dana Hill) and Rusty (Jason Lively). The only Vacation movie that doesn't feature Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), European Vacation is nevertheless one hilarious movie. Directed by Amy Heckerling, the comic genius behind such films as Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982), Johnny Dangerously (1984), and Clueless (1995), European Vacation remains a fun and entertaining movie even twenty years after its release...Like its predecessor, European Vacation follows the lives of the Chicago-based Griswold family. When they appear on the hit TV game show, Pig-In-A-Poke, they inadvertently beat an intellectually superior family and win an all-expenses paid trip to Europe. As usual, Clark is giddy with the prospect of hosting the perfect family bonding experience...Written by Robert Klane, former writer for the MASH TV series and creator of Weekend At Bernie's (1989), the European Vacation screenplay is fully indicative of the author's comedic talents. It's well deserving of being mentioned in the same breath with the other films from the Vacation franchise, but overall, it probably ranks near the bottom (along with Vegas Vacation). Nevertheless, that's more of a testament to the collective strength of the four movies. This is an utterly hilarious film in its own right, and well worth the time of those who have enjoyed the more recent exploits of the Griswolds in Christmas and Vegas Vacation... - Britt Gillette
FilmCritic.com 9 of 10
[Vacation] OK, when's the last time you saw National Lampoon's Vacation? No, I mean the real Vacation -- the one after with all the profanity and nudity in it? Thought so...To re-experience Vacation properly (or experience it for the first time) run, don't walk, to get the DVD of the film, a comedy that's every bit as enjoyable today as it was 20 years ago...As movie character archetype, Chevy Chase's Clark W. Griswold almost needs no introduction. Overworked but in love with his family (and the family lifestyle he's only read about in The Saturday Evening Post, probably), Clark takes his wife (Beverly D'Angelo) and kids (Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron) on a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. Their destination: Walley World, a moose-inspired theme park strangely reminiscent of another animal's magic kingdom...In a formula that would inspire multiple sequels and countless imitations, everything that can go wrong does. It starts at the beginning, when Clark is sold a lemon of a stationwagon, then progresses to a totally wrecked car, a dead relative (and dog), and an eventual arrival at Walley World... only to discover it's closed for two weeks. And the fun continues from there, as Clark just about loses his mind...Chase has made some real dogs in his time, but Vacation ain't one of them. Clark is alternately an idiot and an idiot savant. He gets the family into deep deep trouble, only to redeem himself through a miracle of logic or just dumb luck. It's obvious why Ellen (D'Angelo) stays with him: He's fun and has a knack for ending up on top, or at least no worse for the wear. And he obviously loves his family to death...To say more would be to rob Vacation of its magic...Highly recommended. - Christopher Null
ReelViews 7 of 10
[Christmas Vacation] Christmas Vacation is considered by many film critics to be a "guilty pleasure" - largely because some of the set pieces are as hilarious as they are juvenile. Unfortunately, Christmas Vacation also suffers from the malaise that plagues the other three Vacation films (1983's Vacation, 1985's European Vacation, and 1997's Vegas Vacation) - too little material to sustain a 90+ minute motion picture. At about two-thirds of its official length, Christmas Vacation might have been a joy to the world...The reason Christmas Vacation works is that it takes situations that are familiar to most families and produces humor by exaggerating them to astounding lengths. Nevertheless, at the core of each vignette lies an experience that most viewers will be intimately familiar with. Many of the common "Christmas situations" are crammed into these 90 minutes: the trek to get the family Christmas tree, shopping at a department store, fumbling around in the attic, putting up the decorations, cooking the holiday dinner, and dealing with too many relatives in too little space. Of course, since our heroes are the Griswolds, Murphy's Law is in full force - anything that can go wrong, does...For anyone trying to get into the Christmas mood, Christmas Vacation is perhaps not the best choice of cinematic fare. It doesn't go all that well with chestnuts roasting on an open fire (unless they're exploding all over the place) or Jack Frost nipping at your nose (unless it results in frostbite). However, for those who are tired of peace on earth and goodwill to men, the third outing of the Griswolds offers a reminder that, for some, the real meaning of the season has as much to do with annoying the neighbors and putting up with the relatives as it does with something more wholesome. - James Berardinelli
Variety 5 of 10
[Vegas Vacation] Eight years after their last family outing, the Griswolds are back, but National Lampoon isn't, in "Vegas Vacation," a tepid fourth entry in the popular 1980s series that is decidedly showing its age...Series regulars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid (who joined for "Christmas Vacation") are all back for more, and thank God for Quaid, who injects a few bracing shots of mangy humor into what is otherwise a lukewarm brew...Having earned a bonus for developing a new food preservative, Chase's Clark Griswold packs wife Ellen (D'Angelo) and teenage kids Rusty and Audrey (played this time by Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols) off to the neon oasis. At first, they make the usual rounds, with Clark being paged to join Siegfried & Roy onstage and Ellen turning to jelly when she is invited to sing a duet with Wayne Newton during a show...The family also pays an obliga - Todd McCarthy
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