It's A Long Way Down, The Holiday Road..." National Lampoon's Vacation"

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron

Directed by Harold Ramis

The Story:

Clark Griswold (Chase) is set to take his family from Chicago halfway across country to Wally World, the family amusement park of choice!  Instead of flying, they plan on taking a road trip across country.

What could possibly go wrong?

It's been over 30 years since we first met the Griswold family, and they live out the American Dream, turned horrific nightmare that plagues the back of the mind of every dad who prepares for a road trip with their family.

Written by John Hughes, and directed by Harold Ramis, this comedy classic has endured for generations and is only overshadowed by the ever-popular Christmas Vacation due to the seasonal nature of that one enjoying repeated holiday viewings and becoming a family tradition for most people around Christmas time.

The original though is no slouch.

Between laugh out loud jokes, gags and pratfalls, Vacation has it all.

Anchored by arguably Chevy Chase's finest performance, he plays the perfect father who sets the bar way too high, and then slowly erupts when he can no longer even get close to clearing the bar.

D'Angelo is the perfect foil who tries to keep her manic husband in check along the way.

Then of course, the memorable minor characters who litter the landscape along the road trip.  From the crazy Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) to the elusive Girl in the Ferrari (Christie Brinkley), the story is chock full of characterization for even the smallest of cameos.

Filled with memorable characters and quotable dialogue, this is one of those comedies that has endured.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do own it, and while it doesn't get the multiple viewings per year of the Holiday version, it averages a viewing every year or two.

The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Ten: "Christmas Vacation"

Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?

The Story:

Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) Griswold are back, along with their kids Rusty 3.0 (Johnny Galecki) and Audrey (Juliette Lewis).  This time, they are staying at home and getting the house ready for the in-laws to visit!  It's going to be the best Christmas.... Ever!!!

The Griswolds exist to remind you that no matter how bad  your vacations are, things could always be worse!

The third, and best, of the series returns with John Hughes pulling out all the stops for a Christmas classic, helmed by first time director Jeremiah Chechik.  It was all downhill for him after this film, but what a promising start to a career!

However, for the most part, the movie runs solely on the wonderful gags and dialogue that John Hughes developed for his cast, led by the perfectly cast Chase as the patriarch of the family.

I'm not here to argue on Chase's behalf as an actor, but for those that fail to find him funny or insist he's never done any good work, I'll simply say you're wrong, here's proof, and move along.

He is the beleaguered "everyman dad" that eventually some form of torture befalls to make the worst plans come to life.

Thankfully, it's Clark who takes the brunt of what goes wrong and provides the rest of us with a blueprint on how to avoid making the same mistakes.

Randy Quaid returns as the creepy cousin Eddie, and is simply outstanding in his performance.  Chase and Quaid have a perfect back and forth relationship throughout the movie that is just hysterical to watch their delivery, along with the funny lines.

It's not Christmas time until this movie plays, and it's one of a few Christmas movies that is not only allowed to play more than once during the holiday season...

It's encouraged!

If you don't already own a copy, it's also currently streaming on Netflix through the holidays!

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Owned it, wearing it out... the kids upgraded the house to a blu ray copy last Christmas!  They love me!! Or the movie... : /

: )

Here's a Movie to be Thankful For... "Independence Day"

E.T. phoned home...and brought back reinforcements!

The Story:

Just days before the 4th of July, communications begin becoming disrupted across the globe as alien spacecraft descend around the globe.  What do these aliens want?  Do they come in peace?  Or are they here for more serious reasons?

How can you not like this movie?

Yet, like almost all of the Michael Bay productions, this one gets glossed over as fluff and frivolity...

But that's the point!

This is a summer blockbuster, popcorn, check your brain at the door and just have fun movie.

An all-star cast tackles their pieces of the puzzle until they are all (or at least the ones that survive) united for the final act against the aliens.

You have the scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who warns the President (Bill Pullman) about the real threat and manages to evacuate the White House minutes before destruction.

Then Marine Captain Hiller (Will Smith) who flies fighter jets but dreams of becoming an astronaut.

Plus, you can't forget crazed vet, possible alien abductee Russell (Randy Quaid) who will ultimately figure out how to stop the alien invasion.

Aside from a few shots that are slightly unbelievable, this is epic disaster that would make Irwin Allen tear up with pride.

Roland Emmerich and his writing partner Dean Devlin throw everything they've got into this one, and the movie just clips along at a great pace.

There are rarely any dull moments, it's quick plot devices that propel the storyline forward through dialogue and circumstance.

While Will Smith was considered the star, Bill Pullman gave the movie it's heart, and Jeff Goldblum gave the movie its humor in possibly my favorite role in the movie.

It's also unabashedly a flag-raising jingoistic American piece of propaganda.

So yes, it's an awesome movie.

Going on 20 years old, it's still a pretty fun ride.

I hear rumors of a sequel...

Will Smith should take a cue from the audience enjoyment from this one versus After Earth and sign up.

It was fun, and we'd come back for more!

Final Grade: B+...A-...take your pick!

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: This is the first time I've watched it in about a decade.  I forgot how fun it was.  I won't make that mistake again.

That's Not Just Any Rain... That's "Hard Rain"!!

When it rains...it pours!

The Story:

Tom (Christian Slater) is an armored truck guard riding with his uncle (Edward Asner) when they come upon a town that's flooding.  Next thing you know, the truck is being robbed by some bad dudes led by the baddest of the bad, Jim (Morgan Freeman).  As the flood waters continue to rise, Tom plays a desperate game of cat and mouse with Jim and his henchmen to keep the money safe... a process that faces further entanglement when a crooked Sheriff (Randy Quaid) gets involved.

I am not going to lie, I absolutely love this movie.

I've probably seen it a dozen times. 

It's a well-acted, well-written, fun B movie that just jumps in, and goes full throttle after that.

The premise is very fun, by having an entire town flooded by the rain and rising floodwaters, the game of cat and mouse is forced to take some different twists.  Car chases are replaced by boat rides.  Buildings get flooded and the tensions rise as the waters do.


Also along to provide some comic relief is Betty White as the cranky old lady who doesn't want to evacuate her house. :)

They even manage to squeeze a love story in, that doesn't feel tacked on or unnecessarily added in.  Minnie Driver gets to play the role as heroine and damsel in distress and does a great job with both character turns. 


If you've never seen it before, give it a spin, you just might enjoy it.  If you haven't seen it since it came out 15 years (!!!!) ago, dust it off and give it a whirl.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I have, and I do! : )