Get Away From Your Troubles At A "Summer Rental"

Summer Rental (1985)

Rated PG-13

Starring John Candy, Karen Austin, Kerri Green, Joey Lawrence, Richard Crenna, Rip Torn

Directed by Carl Reiner

The Story:

Jack Chester (Candy) is an air-traffic controller who is burned out at his job. He takes his wife (Austin) and kids (Green and Lawrence) on a mandated vacation to rest and relax. Naturally, if it could go wrong for Jack, it will. He runs into (literally) the wealthiest man (Crenna) in the area, which sets up the finale of a regatta race for pride and money.  May the best man win.

Well, it definitely wasn't worth the wait.

:)

I had seen this poster in video store walls and windows in 1985, and I've never bothered to watch the film... until now!

Nothing ever really grabbed me that this would be a great film with John Candy.

The verdict?

It wasn't.

It also wasn't horrible.

It was average.

The jokes. The situations.  We've seen it all before. We've seen it all since.

It's an attempted cross between Vacation and the Great Outdoors, both of which were better than this one.

Glad I finally can scratch it off the list of films I've never seen, but when going for a great John Candy film, may I recommend Uncle Buck instead?

Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C / C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I waited this long to see it, I'm pretty sure at least 30 more years will slip by before I ever really think about watching it again.

Get On Up, It's Bobsled Time! "Cool Runnings"

Cool Runnings (1993)

Rated PG

Starring John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle Lewis, Malik Yoba,

Directed by Jon Turteltaub

The Story:

Based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team.  When 3 promising sprinters (Leon, Lewis and Yoba) are involved in a botched Olympic trial, their dreams of competing in track are dashed.  When Derice learns that a former Olympian (Candy) and friend of his father lives on the island, he decides that they should try their hand at the Winter Olympics in the bobsled event.

The results will amuse and inspire you.

Over twenty years removed from this movie playing in theaters, and closing in on 30 years since the Jamaicans first captured the minds and hearts of the world, Cool Runnings is just as inspiring today as it was upon release.

This is truly an underdog story of a team that had no shot, and some would say they had no business even being there.

Yet, they nearly pulled off the 2nd greatest miracle on ice and captivated a world while they did it.

It should come as no surprise that Disney produced this film.  That is what they do best, family entertainment.

However, when real-life continues to give us these feel good stories, I'm glad that studios make them, and I'm happy to line up to keep seeing them.

Easily the greatest movie about bobsledding ever made.

:)

It is a bittersweet farewell to John Candy as the last good movie that he starred in. 

Recommended, especially if it's been 20 years since you've seen it, or never taken the plunge.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Own it. Love it. Watch it. Still makes me laugh and gives me goosebumps. :)

It's A Wild And Crazy World In "The Great Outdoors"

The Great Outdoors (1988)

Rated PG

Starring John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening

Directed by Howard Deutch

The Story:

Chet (Candy) is out for a family vacation with his family when Brother-in-Law Roman (Aykroyd) crashes the vacation  uninvited with his family.  Tensions rise, tempers flare and families clash living together under one roof.  However, at the end of it all, family is family...
and you can't legally kill them.

A little charmer from writer John Hughes that didn't strike the magical heights that he would enjoy with other films.  He was a year away from striking comedy gold with Candy in Uncle Buck.

This one is good, just not great.

However, there is a couple really good bits, sold perfectly by Candy and Aykroyd.

The best part is probably the water-skiing scene with Candy on skis and Aykroyd at the helm.

Candy plays the beleaguered everyman perfectly, and he works as the perfect foil to the slimy Roman perfected by Aykroyd, you'd think that this guy goes on to found a certain Tire Kingdom in another movie.

A fun stroll down memory lane if you haven't gone there in the last quarter of a century.

Man, that sounds like an awful long time...

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Cute, but not enough to own it.  A nice one to pull out every decade or so.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 22 ~ Uncle Buck

Welcome to the list, John Hughes.

The man wrote a mountain of movies, one of which is still to come on the countdown.

However, he only directed 8 movies in his career.

That said, he was probably "THE" Director for 80s movies that helped define our generation growing up:

Sixteen Candles
The Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

That's the Holy Trinity of 80s High School Films if you think about it.  Add Weird Science in there, and half of his resume consists of life in school.

The remaining movies are all pretty good, but Uncle Buck is my favorite of his directorial work.

For those that haven't seen it, here goes:

The Russell family is dysfunctional at best.  When the wife's father has a heart attack, the parents need to leave for an undisclosed amount of time, but who will watch over their 3 children?

For an inconvenience like that, you have to call family.  Cue: Uncle Buck!

Buck makes underachieving an art form.  But perhaps some time together with the kids can change both the children and Buck into better people.

It is, after all, a film written by John Hughes.  You know a happy ending is on the way, but it won't be easy getting there.

We saw this one in 1989 when it was released in theaters.  In fact, my honey and I were the only ones in the theater when it came out.

You know the movie has to be pretty good when a teenage boy is alone in a theater with a girl, and actually watches the movie.

: )

Nearly 25 years later, we're still watching it, and now sharing it with our kids.

Scripted by Hughes, you know it's oft-quoted in our house when a situation arises that's worthy of Uncle Buck.

Heck, anytime we see a "smoking car" driving down the road, someone will shout out "there goes Uncle Buck".

More fun than "Slug Bug!" I tell you!

John Hughes writing alone though cannot sell a movie unless he's got a great actor in the lead role.  In John Candy, he found Uncle Buck and gave him the role of a lifetime.  Sure, he's a bit of an underachiever, but he really means well.  He's nice as can be, but don't cross him (or his family) or watch out!

It was the first acting roles for the kids in the house as Gaby Hoffman (Maisy) who has already been on the Countdown (Field of Dreams) and Jean Louisa Kelly (Tia)  as Buck's arch-nemesis who was also in Mr. Holland's Opus.

Plus, while not the first role for him, I would say that this is the movie that was a breakout for Macaulay Culkin.  He of course would move on to huge success with the Home Alone franchise, but here he was cute as a button playing opposite John Candy.

If you haven't seen it (or it's been a few years) move it up your queue and enjoy!