National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Synopsis: Clark Griswold played by Chevy Chase decides to spend the family vacation driving cross-country from Chicago to California’s Walley World. From the moment the trip begins it’s a complete disaster. Anything that can go wrong goes wrong. A stop with his cousin Eddie results in the family adding another person to the road trip, Aunt Edna. When they finally make it to Walley World they find out the park is closed for maintenance. But Clark doesn’t let that stop him from showing his family a good time at Walley World.
Key Actors:
Chevy Chase – Clark Griswold
Beverly D’Angelo – Ellen Griswold,
Anthony Michael Hall – Russell ‘Rusty’ Griswold
Dana Barron – Audrey Griswold
Memorable Quotes:
[Clark has just been pulled over by a Colorado motorcycle cop]
Clark: Hi officer, what’s the problem?
Motorcycle Cop: Get out of the car!
[Clark exits from the car]
Clark: I don’t think I was speeding. Was I weaving or something?
Motorcycle Cop: Shut your mouth, sir! You know, if I weren’t in uniform, I’d split your skull with the butt of this revolver faster than you can say, “police brutality!”
Clark: Well whatever I did, I’m sure I can explain…
[the motorcycle cop forcibly takes Clark by the arm and leads him to the rear of the car, which has a dog leash still tied to it]
Motorcycle Cop: Explain this, you son-of-a-bitch!
Clark: Oh my God…
Ellen Griswold: I honestly don’t think we’re going to find the Grand Canyon on this road.
Clark: Jesus, it’s only the biggest God-damn hole in the world.
Aunt Edna: Clark, watch your language!
Clark: Make that the second biggest.
Ellen Griswold: Don’t just blurt it out to Normie about Edna dying.
Clark Griswald: How about I ask him to play 20 Questions?
Clark: I think you’re all f*cked in the head. We’re ten hours from the f*cking fun park and you want to bail out. Well I’ll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest. It’s a quest for fun. I’m gonna have fun and you’re gonna have fun. We’re all gonna have so much f*cking fun we’ll need plastic surgery to remove our godamn smiles. You’ll be whistling ‘Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah’ out of you’re a**holes! I gotta be crazy! I’m on a pilgrimage to see a moose. Praise Marty Moose! Holy Shit!
Random Trivia:
- Disneyland, not Walley World, was in the actual script, but Disney objected because they are open 365 days a year
- The theme park that was used as Walley World was actually Six Flags Magic Mountain. The “Whipper Snapper” ride is actually “The Revolution,” the first rollercoaster to have a 360-degree vertical loop
- Several Walley World Water Parks actually opened in London, Ontario, Canada years after the movie
Author’s Opinion:
“National Lampoon Vacation,” is a classic. It is one of the funniest movies ever made but with that said there were a few things that were a little corny:
Every time Christie Brinkley, credited as “Girl in Ferrari,” appeared on screen the same song would play until they allowed her to talk, which some feel was a mistake, we’d rather see a model than hear a model. Her next movie role was ten years later, but she continued to model, which proves the point. But what is truly weird about the music is it would never happen in real life. Could you imagine if in real life every time a sexy woman walked in the room music began to play. In some states the music would never start and others the music would never end. In their defense the music in movies never really make sense except in dramatic movie because when you’re jumping off a bridge or dying poetically that type of music really plays.
The short music video at the park with Christie dancing at her car was ridiculous. Did Clark Griswold’s wife not see the obvious flirting? But the most important question is why is this supposedly drop dead gorgeous woman even interested in him. I know in order to enjoy a movie I must be willing to suspend disbelief, but I couldn’t. He’s married with two kids and is a food additive researcher – not the famous rich comedian Chevy Chase. John Hughes must’ve gotten confused at this part of the script and confused Griswold with Chase. It’s an easy mistake they both look a like.
Cousin Eddie living in a dump is far fetched especially since the daughter has all that Mary Jane. Let’s get her to a corner and start selling it – the weed that is. They’d be out of that dump in no time and living the American dream.
The wife, Ellen Griswold, going along with every single thing her husband says and does. SPOILER ALERT – Meaning stop reading here if you lived under a rock and never seen this movie because I’m about to give away the ending. When Clark lost his mind and was standing in the park with the gun to the security guard’s head she went right along with it. Never saying, “I don’t know this lunatic” and packing her kids up. She just went along for the ride.
She never backed down. She was just there to please him. Which brings me to my next question, was this movie made in the 1980′s or the 1880′s. Today Ellen Griswold would’ve let Clark take the kids in the station wagon across the country. She would’ve used his money and flown first class and met them in California.
The movie is a bit like “Star Trek,” the TV series. Any time you saw a new face on an episode beamed down by Scotty to a mysterious planet with Captain Kirk, Spock, and Doc, you knew the new person wasn’t going to make it back aboard the Enterprise. That’s exactly what happened to Aunt Edna and the dog. In the end they didn’t make it back abroad the busted station wagon. But that was a part of the movie that added to comedy. Go rent it or buy it – just don’t get caught burning it you may end up paying an $80,000 fine and it’s just not worth that much.
Click here to buy it now on DVD!
Animation: Rick Perry (actual audio)
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