National Lampoon's Vacation

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National Lampoon's Vacation

R,

1983,

1h 38m,

Comedy/

Adventure

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Watchlist

94%

50 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

100,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.

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Critics Consensus

Blessed by a brilliantly befuddled star turn from Chevy Chase, National Lampoon's Vacation is one of the more consistent -- and thoroughly quotable -- screwball comedies of the 1980s.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

Jun 24, 2015

Half-baked but occasionally hilarious, National Lampoon's Vacation gets a reasonable amount of mileage out of depicting the disaster-prone journey of a "typical" family of four, the Griswolds of suburban Chicago.

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Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

Oct 7, 2009

This is one Vacation trip not to be missed.

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Variety Staff

Variety

May 7, 2008

National Lampoon's Vacation is an enjoyable trip through familiar comedy landscapes.

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Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

Aug 1, 2023

3.5/5

"Vacation," and especially cousin Eddie have long become oft-referenced parts of the American pop culture lexicon. While not from this episode, we all know the two-word response for when your bathroom's not working. Isn't that national treasure territory?

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Jul 16, 2023

Sets the standard for the sub-genre of road trip films, and it’s still the best of its ilk...

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Jul 14, 2023

3.5/5

Some jokes feel a rewrite away from leaning into the right sort of stereotyping rather than the more offensive ones. Still, the comedy's vision of ugly Americanism in America and the scourge of suburbanite selfishness helps it scoot past its problems.

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Feb 2, 2019

The best comedy movie ever made!

George P

Jan 12, 2019

One of my absolute favorites. The entire cast is perfect in this flick. I come back to it often. Definitely one of Chevy Chase's best performances.

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Hagrid R

Dec 25, 2018

Still the best of the Vacation series there is featuring obsessed Clarke pushing his family dream of taking a road trip to Wally World only to find it is closed. Best aspects are the premise, Clarke's obsession, the reluctant family, meeting cousin Eddie and the family, the policeman who pulls over Clarke to question him about the remains of the dog that Clarke accidentally left tied to the bumper bar, and the way the family deals with the untimely death of miserable Aunt Edna.

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Harry P

Nov 2, 2018

Vacation is funny, smart, and an all around fun film. Though it can be predictable at times.

Abraham R

Jul 27, 2018

A classic! Perfectly silly and ridiculous in all the right ways!!

Finn P

May 30, 2018

What can you say.... it is a classic. Chase is in top form as the over eager, nostalgic seeking dad who just wants a good old fashioned family vacation and the memories that come with it.... what he gets is a hilarious cross country adventure with disaster at every turn.

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Harold Ramis

Director

Chevy Chase

Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.

Beverly D'Angelo

Ellen Griswold

Christie Brinkley

The Girl in the Ferrari

Anthony Michael Hall

Russell "Rusty" Griswold

Imogene Coca

Aunt Edna

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Synopsis

Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.

Director: Harold Ramis
Producer: Matty Simmons
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 1983, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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