Genre Guesstimation – National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – Encore Review 2

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by me and we will be reviewing our favorite Family Vacation Movies.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Aug by sending them to FamilyVacation@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Family Vacation Movies.”

“Sorry folks, park’s closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya. ” – Lasky

Number of Times Seen – Between 5-10 times (cable, video, 28 Apr 2014, 28 Apr 2021 and 19 Aug 2022)

Link to original review – Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A typical American family decides to travel across the country in order to get to their favorite amusement park.

My Take on it – Hilarious film that works so well. Most of us have had family vacations when we were kids and/or as heads of the household. This movie expertly takes the adage that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong a bit too literally, but it still remains so much fun to watch. Chevy Chase is perfectly cast as the patriarch of the family and his cluelessness is set to the perfect level as things play out. Harold Ramis directs this expertly based on the script by John Hughes. There are so many aspects of this film that are iconic and even after 4 decades it remains so enjoyable to watch and rewatch.

Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – John Candy was paid $1 million for his brief appearance at the end of the movie. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Comes really close. Hilarious look at a family vacation that has become some iconic over the past 40 years.

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10) (no change from original review)