Summer Rental (1985)

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Jeremy Stevens (writer) and
Mark Reisman (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Life's A Beach

Plot:

Jack Chester, an overworked air traffic controller, takes his family on vacation to the beach. Things immediately start to go wrong for the Chesters...

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Beach | Air Traffic Controller | Family Vacation | Breast Implant

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Karen Austin	...	Sandy Chester
John Candy	...	Jack Chester
Kerri Green	...	Jennifer Chester
Joseph Lawrence	...	Bobby Chester (as Joey Lawrence)
Aubrey Jene	...	Laurie Chester
Richard Crenna	...	Al Pellet
Rip Torn	...	Scully
John Larroquette	...	Don Moore
Richard Herd	...	Angus MacLachlan
Santos Morales	...	Cortez
Lois Hamilton	...	Vicki Sanders
Carmine Caridi	...	Ed Sanders
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Hal (as Frank McCarthy)
Pierrino Mascarino	...	Maitre D'
Harry Yorku	...	Yorku, Pirate Musician

Runtime:

87 min | Argentina:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) | Australia:PG | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG-13 (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

There are several movie posters seen when Sandy and the kids go to the theater. The movies being advertised are: Airplane! (1980) Dragonslayer (1981) Uncommon Valor (1983) Footloose (1984) Top Secret! (1984).

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the boat race, the Barnacle is supposedly last. Yet, when they pick up speed from the unexpected wind, you can clearly see a boat behind them with a rainbow-colored spinnaker. This may or may not have been the Incisor from "future" scenes in the film.

Quotes:

Jack Chester: Come on Hal. Can't you pull a few strings for me?
Hal: It's not on my hands. The agency gave you a mandatory five. Look Jack, you've been landing planes for 13 years. Face it, you're burned out. It's not a dirty word in this business. I'm telling you this as a friend, you need this rest.
Jack Chester: I can't believe they're doing this! Just because of a stinking fly.

Movie Connections:

References Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Soundtrack:

AXEL F

This is John Candy's show all the way!

The late, great John Candy does well as stressed-out air traffic controller Jack Chester, who's actually ORDERED to go on a vacation. He and his family (Karen Austin, Kerri Green, Joey Lawrence, Aubrey Jene) travel to Florida and rent a home for the summer, where obligatory misadventures take place. Jack also butts heads with obnoxious, snot-nosed local moneybags Al Pellet (Richard Crenna) and seeks to take the rich guy down a peg or two.

"Summer Rental" is for me good comedy entertainment that is likable and down-to-earth. It doesn't get too silly, or over-the-top, and the characters are actually realistic. Candy is, in the film, just as funny and naturally endearing as he ever was. Even Crenna does a good turn, playing for laughs the same kind of role he was supposed to have played in the previous year's "The Flamingo Kid". Candy's children are actually likable and are not portrayed as stereotypically wisecracking little know-it-alls. Rip Torn gets into the act, too, hamming it up (but not unbearably so) as crusty local restaurant owner Scully.

I really like "Summer Rental"; I have seen it before and still laugh at it quite a bit. It's quite possibly one of Candy's best vehicles. There's not really a lot of plot, but that doesn't mean that the writing is necessarily BAD. In fact, some of those lines were good.

I even liked that song "Turning Around" by Jimmy Buffett (played once in a montage, and then again over the closing credits).

8/10