| | | Chevy's at the Wheel -- and All Roads Lead to Laughter!
Features: DVD, No Longer Produced
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.
"...a surprising number of genuine laughs." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"fast, funny satire..." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Have a good laugh. I liked taking this Vacation." Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
"The first and the best, only rivaled by Christmas Vacation. Revel in the days when Chase was funny!" Brian McKay, eFilmCritic.com
"There are plenty of funny moments in this comedy that introduced the world to bumbling everyman Clark Griswold." Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
"Constantly hilarious, with a comic supporting cast to die for." Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
"Chevy Chase is hilarious as the dad obsessed with having a good time." Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal
Editor's Note
Join the Griswolds, a typical suburban family, on their summer vacation, a cross-county trip to their favorite amusement park, Walley World. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong in this outrageous farce, featuring the comic genius of Chevy Chase as the desperate dad looking for fun and Beverly D'Angelo as his willing wife. As they wind their way across the country, the Griswolds are forced to survive a series of absurd events and wacky detours. By the time they finally reach the gates of Walley World, they are more desperate for fun than ever.
Plot Summary
The Griswolds are determined to make it to Walley World, their favorite amusement park, in this riotous story of an average American family on a road trip. From the moment they pile into their beat-up car and set off on their cross-county adventure, everything that can go wrong does. Chevy Chase is sublimely funny as Clark Griswold, the desperate dad determined to have a good time. With his cynical kids (Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron) packed into the backseat and his willing wife (Beverly D'Angelo) by his side, he is ready for the trip of a lifetime. Clark has planned the trip down to the minute, including interesting side trips, like looking at the world's biggest ball of twine. As his plans deteriote and one disaster leads to another, the Griswolds run across an insane cast of characters on the highways and biways between Chicago and California, including a zany cousin played by Randy Quaid and an aunt (Imogene Coca) who never quite ends up where she expected. When they finally make it to Walley World, the Griswolds are determined to have a good time, at any cost. John Candy's cameo as a security guard is hysterical. Director Harold Ramis never lets up the pace as the Griswolds' family vacation spirals way out of control.
| Features | Full Screen Presentation | | Scene Access | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Audio: English, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | Interactive Menus | | Production Notes | | Theatrical Trailer |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 7/29/1997 |
| Running Time: 99 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1983 | | Catalog ID: 11315 | | UPC: 00085391131526 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Fast, funny satire....Chase plays Clark Griswold with much more of an edge than he's brought to any other recent roles..." 07/29/1983 p.C10Variety
"...An enjoyable trip through family comedy landscapes....There's plenty of fun here for anybody who can relate from the front or back seat..." 08/03/1983 Entertainment Weekly
"...Very funny....Chase, as Clark Griswold, finally lived up to all that early SNL promise..." 08/22/2003 p.118 The DVD Report 9 of 10
One of the funniest movies of all time, National Lampoon's Vacation tells the story of a bungling middle-class man's quest to provide his family with the ultimate family vacation. Complete with a series of laughable diversions along the way, and great casting that provides for a number of hilarious supporting characters, Vacation is a cult comedy classic. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo form the perfect married couple comedy duo with a banter that is simply magical, and the comic screenplay is well-written with sequences of never-ending laughter...When Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) decides to take his Chicago family on a trip to Wally World, his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), along with kids Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and Audrey (Dana Barron), try to convince him they should fly. But Clark is intent on taking the new "family truckster" (a brand new lemon he recently purchased) on a cross country drive so as to "see America" along the way. Clark wins the argument, and the family sets off on a nefarious and unforgettable excursion across the Fruited Plain...Sporting hilarious supporting appearances by Randy Quaid, John Candy, and supermodel Christie Brinkley (a Ferrari-driving blonde whose infatuation with Clark threatens to breakup the Griswold marriage), National Lampoon's Vacation is the quintessential comedy classic...Because of its status as a cult comedy classic, as well as its never-ending laughs, National Lampoon's Vacation is a definite must-see film. - Britt Gillette
FilmCritic.com 9 of 10
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
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