Vacation (1983)

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

John Hughes (screenplay)
John Hughes (short story "Vacation '58")

Release Date:

29 July 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Every summer Chevy Chase takes his family on a little trip. This year he went too far.

Plot:

The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Arizona | Kansas | Cross Country | Death

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Chevy Chase	...	Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Ellen Griswold
Imogene Coca	...	Aunt Edna
Randy Quaid	...	Cousin Eddie
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Russell 'Rusty' Griswold
Dana Barron	...	Audrey Griswold
Eddie Bracken	...	Roy Walley
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Kamp Komfort Clerk
Miriam Flynn	...	Cousin Catherine
James Keach	...	Motorcycle Cop
Eugene Levy	...	Car Salesman
Frank McRae	...	Grover
John Candy	...	Lasky, Guard at Walleyworld
Christie Brinkley	...	The Girl in the Ferrari
Jane Krakowski	...	Cousin Vicki

Also Known As:

National Lampoon's Vacation (UK) (USA) (complete title)
American Vacation (Europe: English title) (video title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | Finland:K-7 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:S (1983) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:M | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | West Germany:6 | USA:R (certificate number 27018)

Filming Locations:

Alamosa, Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to Harold Ramis, he was inspired to shoot wide angle shots of Clark alone in the desert by La guerre du feu (1981).

Goofs:

Continuity: As Russ goes to talk to his dad his hands are out of his jacket pockets. The next shot he has them in his pockets.

Quotes:

Clark Griswald: When I was a boy, just about every summer we'd take a vacation. And you know, in 18 years, we never had fun.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Family Truckster (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

DANCIN' 'CROSS THE U.S.A.

Still one of my favorite comedies of all time

Maybe it's the part when they visit the white trash relatives (Randy Quaid and his family) and they acquire Aunt Edna for the family trip. Maybe it's the part when Aunt Edna dies and they put her on the top of the old station wagon,, maybe it's the fighting and bickering all kids do when the family goes somewhere,, or maybe it's the part where the Griswolds drive through a cruddy neighborhood and the station wagon gets vandalised and all of the hib caps taken..I cannot think of a "favorite" part of this movie because it is hilarious from start to finish. Clark Griswold's good intentions gone bad makes this a decent, highly watchable movie with non-stop laughs. It's not ridiculous nor highly exaggarated either- just a typical American family trying to get to Wally World in one piece and everything goes wrong. I think we can all relate to something in this movie when it comes to going on vacation. I still watch this movie every time it's on television and I still laugh every time.