NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION
US, 1983, 94 minutes, Colour.
Chevy Chase, Beverly D' Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Eddie Bracken, James Keach, John Candy, Christie Brinkley.
Directed by Harold Ramis.
National Lampoon's Vacation is one of a series of films associated with the satiric magazine National Lampoon. The most successful film was the first National Lampoon's Animal House which became a cult film from the late 1970s, satirising American styles in the universities and poking fun at American hypocrisies. It had the verve of such stars
as John Belushi.
In 1982 there was the National Lampoon send-up of the multiple murder films, National Lampoon's Class Reunion. While less raucously vulgar than Animal House, it was a broad spoof poking fun at American institutions.
With National Lampoon's Vacation, the satire is rather muted. The film could be any situation comedy on television with touches of black humour. As such it is entertaining enough but produces many smiles rather than belly laughs. There is satire on the average family: Chevy Chase is quite effective as the bland father who is taken in, has confidence in himself and is determined to get his family by car to California despite all the troubles. Beverly D'Angelo is quite attractive and strong as the mother. They have two precocious children - especially with sex and drugs, but who are quite simple and wise children at heart.
Along the way there is satire on American roads, the ghettos (the children are advised to watch the plight of America through the car windows), the open roads and the roughnecks, being lost in the desert, the hillbilly cousins with their crude lifestyle stinging the family for money, the objectionable aunt who spoils their holiday at a rundown campsite, who dies and is placed on the top of the car with the luggage and left at her son's house (the most dubious of the incidents in the film as regards taste). Eventually there is the satire on the fun park (run by Eddie Bracken making his first film in 30 years) and a treatment to a kind of Cinerama enjoyment of all the rides in the park.
One is surprised, seeing this material, that it is associated with the hard-hitting satire on National Lampoon.
Screenplay is by John Hughes before he started directing.
