With Vacation being released tonight, I thought it would be fitting to review the other films in the Vacation franchise. So without further ado...
National Lampoon's Vacation
Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase), an ad exec becomes consumed with taking his family cross-country to Wally World, a California amusement park. Less a vacation than a descent into a peculiarly American kind of hell, the Griswolds suffer through an endless series of catastrophes, culminating in a run-in with the law.
This is an absolutely hilarious film. From the opening moments of the film you are laughing and that is a constant theme throughout the entire movie. Everything that the Griswold family goes through to get the ultimate destination of Wally World is just chaotic and absolutely ridiculous. One of the things that the film has going for it is the fact that it was directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes who are two of the best when it comes to comedy and every film they touch is gold. I also enjoy the performances and the pairing of Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo is just terrific and they have tremendous chemistry. The one that steals the movie however is Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie and from the moment he comes on screen to the end of the film he just steals the movie. My main problem with the film is that while the comedy is brilliant some of the jokes just come off a little too forced and don't work for me. Overall this is one of the best comedies of all-time and it's hard for any film to top this one. I give National Lampoon's Vacation a 9.5 out of 10.
National Lampoon's European Vacation
Despite the many adventures they suffered in National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswold family decides to take another crack at having fun. This time, the doltish clan heads across the Atlantic for a whirlwind vacation after winning a game show. Will the monuments of Europe survive?
This is a really terrible film. Now when you are a direct sequel to one of the best comedies of all-time it is really hard to top the success of the first film and this film just doesn't do that. One of the things missing from the film is it's originality and Harold Ramis behind the camera. I thought that the performances were mailed in and the jokes were just constantly beating you over head and none of the jokes work. Some of them do work, but a lot of them are reused from the first film and it just disappoints me because I love the first film so much and the fact that John Hughes was the one that wrote the script. I also think the movie was missing Randy Quaid's comedic sense of humor who I thought was the real star of the first film. Overall this is a really poor attempt at a sequel and a utter disappointment. I give National Lampoon's European Vacation a 1 out of 10.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (played by Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (played by Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark's employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.
This is not only a great comedy, but a great holiday film as well. This is a film that can be watched by the entire family at any given time. I also really like how the filmmakers were able to rebound after the disaster that was European Vacation. I think that everyone involved realized the disaster that the previous film was and they stepped up their games. John Hughes did an outstanding job or making this one of the funniest films he has been apart of. I also like seeing the return of Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie and I thought that Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo acted like they wanted be on the same screen with each other in the film more than the last film. I thought the jokes were more clever this time around and while the film is a sequel it does feel original coming from a comedic sense. Overall this is a solid comedy and holiday film that I can watch over and over again. I give National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation a 9 out of 10.
Vegas Vacation
This is the fourth in a series of movies that began with National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983. This time, the Griswolds visit Las Vegas. Clark (played by Chevy Chase) immediately goes to the blackjack table and starts blowing all his money, continually encouraged to spend more and more by a taunting dealer, Marty (played by Wallace Shawn). Ellen Griswold (played by Beverly D'Angelo) becomes smitten with the lounge singer Wayne Newton (playing himself), who invites her to sing onstage with him. Their son Rusty (played by Ethan Embry) is incredibly lucky playing dice, and he is virtually adopted by a family of gangsters who see him as their meal ticket. Daughter Audrey (played by Marisol Nichols) gets hooked up with her wild cousin Vickie (played by Shae D'Lyn), who takes her to sleazy dance clubs. White-trash cousin Eddie (played by Randy Quaid), who lives on a former A-bomb test site in the nearby desert, also gets involved with the capers.
This is an absolutely terrible, dreadful and awful film that should never have been made. Look I get it when you have a franchise as successful as this one you want to keep it going for as long as you can and the studio should've stoppped while they were ahead. I mean you already knew you could make terrible film after the disaster of European Vacation and they had a nice thing going when they rebounded with Christmas Vacation, but now the studio just did too much. The film is not even funny in the least little bit. This is the first film in the franchise not be rated PG-13 or R and that hurts the film tremendously simply because the jokes can't be as raunchy or funny as they can be with a higher rating. The performances are mailed in and at this point the franchise is gimmicky and useless. The film is also missing John Hughes who wrote the previous three films and that really just peeves me off to no end. Overall this is pile of crap film that doesn't even deserved to be mentioned. I give Vegas Vacation a 0 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 5 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the Vacation franchise, what would you rate each film, are you excited for Vacation and what did you think of my reviews? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
National Lampoon's Vacation
Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase), an ad exec becomes consumed with taking his family cross-country to Wally World, a California amusement park. Less a vacation than a descent into a peculiarly American kind of hell, the Griswolds suffer through an endless series of catastrophes, culminating in a run-in with the law.
This is an absolutely hilarious film. From the opening moments of the film you are laughing and that is a constant theme throughout the entire movie. Everything that the Griswold family goes through to get the ultimate destination of Wally World is just chaotic and absolutely ridiculous. One of the things that the film has going for it is the fact that it was directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes who are two of the best when it comes to comedy and every film they touch is gold. I also enjoy the performances and the pairing of Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo is just terrific and they have tremendous chemistry. The one that steals the movie however is Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie and from the moment he comes on screen to the end of the film he just steals the movie. My main problem with the film is that while the comedy is brilliant some of the jokes just come off a little too forced and don't work for me. Overall this is one of the best comedies of all-time and it's hard for any film to top this one. I give National Lampoon's Vacation a 9.5 out of 10.
National Lampoon's European Vacation
Despite the many adventures they suffered in National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswold family decides to take another crack at having fun. This time, the doltish clan heads across the Atlantic for a whirlwind vacation after winning a game show. Will the monuments of Europe survive?
This is a really terrible film. Now when you are a direct sequel to one of the best comedies of all-time it is really hard to top the success of the first film and this film just doesn't do that. One of the things missing from the film is it's originality and Harold Ramis behind the camera. I thought that the performances were mailed in and the jokes were just constantly beating you over head and none of the jokes work. Some of them do work, but a lot of them are reused from the first film and it just disappoints me because I love the first film so much and the fact that John Hughes was the one that wrote the script. I also think the movie was missing Randy Quaid's comedic sense of humor who I thought was the real star of the first film. Overall this is a really poor attempt at a sequel and a utter disappointment. I give National Lampoon's European Vacation a 1 out of 10.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (played by Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (played by Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark's employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.
This is not only a great comedy, but a great holiday film as well. This is a film that can be watched by the entire family at any given time. I also really like how the filmmakers were able to rebound after the disaster that was European Vacation. I think that everyone involved realized the disaster that the previous film was and they stepped up their games. John Hughes did an outstanding job or making this one of the funniest films he has been apart of. I also like seeing the return of Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie and I thought that Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo acted like they wanted be on the same screen with each other in the film more than the last film. I thought the jokes were more clever this time around and while the film is a sequel it does feel original coming from a comedic sense. Overall this is a solid comedy and holiday film that I can watch over and over again. I give National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation a 9 out of 10.
Vegas Vacation
This is the fourth in a series of movies that began with National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983. This time, the Griswolds visit Las Vegas. Clark (played by Chevy Chase) immediately goes to the blackjack table and starts blowing all his money, continually encouraged to spend more and more by a taunting dealer, Marty (played by Wallace Shawn). Ellen Griswold (played by Beverly D'Angelo) becomes smitten with the lounge singer Wayne Newton (playing himself), who invites her to sing onstage with him. Their son Rusty (played by Ethan Embry) is incredibly lucky playing dice, and he is virtually adopted by a family of gangsters who see him as their meal ticket. Daughter Audrey (played by Marisol Nichols) gets hooked up with her wild cousin Vickie (played by Shae D'Lyn), who takes her to sleazy dance clubs. White-trash cousin Eddie (played by Randy Quaid), who lives on a former A-bomb test site in the nearby desert, also gets involved with the capers.
This is an absolutely terrible, dreadful and awful film that should never have been made. Look I get it when you have a franchise as successful as this one you want to keep it going for as long as you can and the studio should've stoppped while they were ahead. I mean you already knew you could make terrible film after the disaster of European Vacation and they had a nice thing going when they rebounded with Christmas Vacation, but now the studio just did too much. The film is not even funny in the least little bit. This is the first film in the franchise not be rated PG-13 or R and that hurts the film tremendously simply because the jokes can't be as raunchy or funny as they can be with a higher rating. The performances are mailed in and at this point the franchise is gimmicky and useless. The film is also missing John Hughes who wrote the previous three films and that really just peeves me off to no end. Overall this is pile of crap film that doesn't even deserved to be mentioned. I give Vegas Vacation a 0 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 5 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the Vacation franchise, what would you rate each film, are you excited for Vacation and what did you think of my reviews? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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