Movie Review – National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

The concept of the long-distance family vacation has been around for generations.

Each summer (and major holidays), it’s no surprise as families load their car and then hit the road, heading anywhere and everywhere.  The interstates would become crowded and local points of interest would be busy as people stopped to stretch their legs and let the kids burn off some energy.

The opening of the Disneyland theme park in 1955 in Anaheim, California, pushed the concept of people traveling long distances to visit a theme park.  Sure, people had their local amusement parks but until that point there was nothing on the scale as compared to Disneyland, a theme park designed for the whole family.  People had to make the trip to experience it for themselves.

1983′s hit comedy, National Lampoon’s Vacation, is a movie that takes the simple concept of a family driving cross-country to a theme park, and then hits them with nearly every possible disaster along the way.  Instead of visiting Disneyland, the Griswold family visits the fictional Walley World theme park, also located in the greater Los Angeles area.  Walley World has its own mascot, Marty Moose, and even a theme song that everybody knows by heart.

Directed by Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Analyze This, etc.), Chevy Chase stars in Vacation along with Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall and supermodel Christie Brinkley.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

National Lampoon’s Vacation begins as Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his son, Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall), take their old car to the dealership to pick up their new car.  The Griswolds are leaving for Walley World tomorrow morning.  Clark and Rusty are eager to get the new car for the trip, but as we see, the car dealership’s salesman (Eugene Levy) has pulled a fast one on Clark.  Instead of receiving a new sports wagon, Clark instead receives a Wagon Queen Family Truckster.  His old car is quickly destroyed, forcing Clark to take a deal on the Family Truckster.

Clark’s wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and daughter, Audrey (Dana Barron) aren’t thrilled when Clark returns home with their new car, but there’s nothing they can do about it.  That afternoon, Clark uses the home computer to show the kids the trip itinerary from their home in Chicago all the way to Los Angeles.  Later that evening Ellen tells Clark her concerns about the long drive and tries to talk him into flying out to Los Angeles.  Clark refuses, claiming that the drive will give him a chance to spend more time with the kids.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The trip officially begins and the Griswold family is off to Walley World!  Clark and Ellen pass the time by singing classic songs despite protests from their kids.  They then sing the Marty Moose theme song to help put everybody in the right mood.  Clark and Ellen resume singing, so Rusty and Audrey are forced to seek their own entertainment.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

After they cross the Mississippi River, Clark decides to get off the interstate, right there in St. Louis.  Somehow they end up in a rough neighborhood and Clark is forced to ask the locals for directions back to the interstate.  A guy (there on vacation from Chicago) swindles him for bad information as hoodlums steal the car’s hubcaps and tag it with graffiti.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

They find their way back to the interstate and keep driving out west.  Clark falls asleep while driving, and the car ultimately takes an exit, and races through a small town.  Clark wakes and panics.  The car spins and finally stops in a hotel’s parking lot.  They book separate rooms for the parents and kids, and Clark and Ellen spend some quality time together.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The next day begins at Dodge City, Kansas where the family spends some time in town.  Clark insults the bartender who fires a fake shotgun round at him, scaring Clark right out of his seat.  After Dodge City they continue west to the home of Catherine (Ellen’s cousin) and her husband, Eddie.  While driving, Clark spies a hot woman (Christie Brinkley) driving a red Ferrari 308 GTS.  They play with each other until the woman speeds away in her sports car.  Ellen isn’t exactly thrilled with Clark’s sudden attention for that hot woman.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The Griswolds arrive in Coolidge, Kansas, at the home of Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and Eddie (Randy Quaid).  Rusty and Audrey try to get to know their second cousins Dale (John P. Navin, Jr.) and Vicki (Jane Krakowski), but it’s apparent that life is very simple (and inappropriate in this case) out in the countryside.  Eddie has financial problems and talks Clark into loaning him some money.  While everybody is eating dinner, Clark and Ellen meet Ellen’s old and senile Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca).  They aren’t exactly thrilled when Aunt Edna drops the bombshell that Clark and Ellen are taking her to a relative in Phoenix, Arizona.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The trek continues the next day with Aunt Edna and Dinky, Edna’s aggressive dog, joining the car.  They stop and have a picnic for lunch, and while eating, Clark sees the hot woman again with the red Ferrari.  Lunch suddenly ends when Ellen discovers that the dog peed on their picnic basket, getting the sandwiches all wet.  They hit the road again and stop for the night at a camp ground in South Fork, Colorado.  Clark ends up paying too much money for expensive (and quite shoddy) tents.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The Griswolds continue their trek only for Clark to be pulled over by a police officer.  The cop shows him the leash and Clark is shocked to discover that he forgot to untie the dog from the car’s bumper.  Clark had to secure the dog while loading the car at the camp ground.  Aunt Edna is horrified that her dog is dead, and she constantly accuses Clark of being a “dog killer.”  At some point Clark hits a bump in the road and they lose two suitcases, one of them containing their credit cards.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The Family Truckster is cruising out west and have the road to themselves for some reason.  Clark panics when they plow through a “road closed” sign and the car jumps off a ramp, crashing into the desert sand.  Now they’re stranded out in the middle of nowhere.  Clark shares a beer with Rusty before heading out in search of help.  He wanders through the desert for several hours until finding a service station.  His family is there and the Family Truckster is being repaired (more or less).

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

Clark is once again swindled when it’s time to pay for the car’s tow and repairs.  The two mechanics (one of them happens to be the town’s sheriff) insist that Clark hands over all of his cash, some $500.  They stop at a hotel at the Grand Canyon and Clark tries to cash a personal check, but the hotel’s manager refuses as the bank claimed that the account was reported as being stolen.  He won’t listen, so when the cash register accidentally opens, Clark stuffs his check into the drawer and grabs the cash.  He runs back to his family and they drive away.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

A short time later Ellen discovers that Aunt Edna isn’t sleeping in the car.  She’s dead.  Clark stops and everybody jumps out of the car.  Not wanting to call for a hearse, Clark decides to take the deceased Aunt Edna to her son’s house in Phoenix.  He straps her to the roof of the car and they continue the drive.  Of course, it’s raining in Phoenix and to top it off Edna’s son isn’t even at home.  They leave Aunt Edna sitting in a patio chair with an umbrella, and then they leave for a hotel.  The family reaches a breaking point while driving and Clark nearly has a nervous breakdown.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

Things calm down at the hotel in Arizona, but Clark and Ellen are still having personal problems.  Clark leaves Ellen in the hotel room and heads down to the bar.  There he finally meets with the hot woman in the red Ferrari.  She takes him out to the swimming pool and goes skinny dipping.  Clark reluctantly follows suit, but when he jumps into the water he realizes that the water is freezing cold.  His shouts awaken the hotel and Ellen discovers him in the pool with the woman.  Clark returns to his room and works out his problems with Ellen.  Ellen feels energetic and wants to go skinny dipping, and her shouting wakes the hotel again.  Clark and Ellen swim around and play, both of them thrilled to be together again.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

The big day finally arrives and the Griswolds arrive at Walley World.  The parking lot is suspiciously quiet, but this doesn’t bother Clark.  He insists on parking at the very end of the parking lot thinking that they will be the first ones to leave when the park closes, avoiding that traffic jam.  Clark and Rusty race each other to the entrance of the theme park to the theme song from 1981′s Chariots of Fire.  Their smiles quickly disappear when they realize that the parking lot is empty for a reason . . .

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

Walley World is closed for two weeks so the park can be cleaned and repaired.  A statue of Marty Moose is holding the disappointing sign.  Clark finally snaps.  He drives the family to a sporting goods store and then they return to Walley World.  They enter the theme park and Clark looks for somebody to talk to about the park being closed.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

One of the park’s security officers (John Candy) stops Clark.  Clark tries to talk his way past him, but the guard refuses.  Clark then uses a BB gun and takes the guard hostage.  He then has the guard join them as the begin riding the rides at Walley World.  They go on the thrill rides and roller coasters until a police SWAT team captures the Griswolds.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – (c) Warner Bros.

Once the Griswolds are secure and the security guard is free, Roy Walley (Eddie Bracken) arrives at the scene to find out what happened in his theme park.  Clark takes a few minutes to talk to Roy Walley and explain all the hardships they faced on the drive from Chicago.  He apologizes for his behavior and Roy has the police release the family.  Everybody stays in the park and goes on the rides again.

National Lampoon’s Vacation ends with a collection of memorable photos of the Griswold’s driving adventure from Chicago to Los Angeles.

So is National Lampoon’s Vacation any good?

Although the movie is dated and most of the jokes don’t work with today’s society, National Lampoon’s Vacation is still a great comedy movie.  From Clark’s antics to all the misfortune along the way, Vacation proves that getting there is half the fun.  In this case, about 85% of the film is dedicated to the drive from Chicago to Los Angeles.

It’s clear that Walley World is a spoof of Disneyland, complete with Marty Moose (as opposed to Mickey Mouse) and Roy Walley (versus Walt Disney and his brother, Roy).  Everybody along the route of travel knows about Walley World.

National Lampoon’s Vacation is NOT excused from its numerous flaws including the granddaddy of them all near the end of the movie.

• Why did Clark wait until the day before vacation before picking up his new car?  The slightest delay or error could cause a delay with the trip.  You NEVER leave important things like that for the very last minute.

• How did Clark get so lost that he ended up in a bad neighborhood in St. Louis?  Clark’s a guy who planned the trip in detail, and he should have had basic directions (or something called a “map”) for their sightseeing adventures both on and off the interstate.

• Was Clark ever prosecuted after he stole money from the cash register at the hotel near the Grand Canyon?  He left behind a personal check with all his information, so it should have been easy to have the police waiting for him at home.

And now for the movie’s TERRIBLE ENDING.

First of all, how did the Griswolds NOT KNOW that Walley World was CLOSED for two weeks?

1)  A park like that wouldn’t be closed during the summer.  That’s the busy season for amusement and theme parks.  A planned closing like that would occur in the winter when visitors are a minimum.

2) IF a park of that size was closed for any period of time out of normal operation, then travel agencies would know about it.  It’s major news if any of the Disney theme parks have to close for any reason.  It would be the same thing for Walley World in this case.  Even in the early 1980s Clark should have easily been able to verify that the park would be open for their visit.

The Griswolds should have never been able to get into the PARKING LOT let alone the theme park itself.  If the park was closed, the parking lot would have also been closed, denying access to any visitors.  Workers and VIPs would have gained access through an alternate entrance.

And of course, how did any of those rides operate WITHOUT ANY WORKERS?  You still need a person to press a start button once everybody is seated.  Those rides certainly weren’t automatic, even back in those times.

Speaking of the workers, where were they?  The park was supposedly closed for two weeks for cleaning and repair.  The place should have been full of people working throughout Walley World.  But the place was vacant.  The only other worker in sight was another security guard who ended up calling the cops.

It’s such a shame that an otherwise great comedy movie could have such a horrible ending with plot holes large enough for the Family Truckster.  The rest of National Lampoon’s Vacation is a good movie that you’ll be quoting for a long time.  The film itself is a homage for all of us who have had to endure the long-distance family vacation.  There’s at least something in the movie that we can relate to.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – movie trailer

National Lampoon’s Vacation was the first in a series of Vacation movies featuring the Griswold family.  National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985) was next followed by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) and finally Vegas Vacation (1997).  Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are in all four movies, but their kids have different actors and actresses in each film.

Ed, the car salesman – “You think you hate it now, wait ’til you drive it.”

Clark – “I don’t want to drive it.”

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Clark – “We’re from out of town.”

Man Giving Directions – “No sh*t.”

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Clark – “You’re the gourmet around here, Eddie.”

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Cousin Vicki – “I’m going steady, and I French kiss.”

Audrey – “So?  Everybody does that.”

Cousin Vicki – “Yeah, but Daddy says I’m the best at it.”

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Marty Moose – “Sorry, folks!  We’re closed for two weeks to clean and repair America’s favorite family fun park.  Sorry, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!”