I don’t imagine an American group can look at a picture of London and not shout, “There’s Big Ben!” Although the giggles are more slapstick and absurd than in the last movies, the lengthy London traffic circle, and Pig-in-a-Polk is unforgettable moments. There are several hilarious situations in the film, as well as some unforgettable ones. Can the Griswolds survive their European vacation?
National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)įollowing their successful Wally World excursion in National Lampoon’s Vacation, the Griswolds embark on a lovely, worry-free, all-expenses-paid trip to cosmopolitan Europe, courtesy of the popular TV game show, Pig in a Poke.Ĭlark Griswold, his wife Ellen, and their teenage children, Audrey and Rusty, are under a time crunch this time, attempting to see as much as they can in London, Paris, Germany, and Rome.ĭisaster strikes once again, as British driving peculiarities, heinous fashion crimes in the City of Lights, a massive language barrier in a Bavarian village, and a run-in with the authorities in Rome all obstruct enjoyment. If you haven’t seen National Lampoon’s Vacation and enjoy comedies, you should. It’s ridiculous humor done well, with a cast capable of pulling it off. It’s difficult for me to see Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation without remembering Cousin Vicki telling Audrey that she learned French kissing from her father. In subsequent films, he is portrayed as a retarded but lovable moron. Eddie is portrayed as a backward, probably incestuous relative of Ellen in this film.
The gang truly does appear to behave as a family, and the whole notion of the thinly disguised Disneyland-style Walley World is really hilarious, plus you get a good John Candy cameo as a by-the-book character.Ĭousin Eddie is one of the more mature characters in National Lampoon’s Vacation. The film continues on with a terrific sequence of events that is well-balanced. The kids have been recast with each Vacation, but I always consider Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron to be the actual Rusty and Audrey, and Imogene Coca provides a terrific performance as the doomed Aunt Edna.
It’s Chevy Chase at his best before he turned into a bitter old guy. National Lampoon’s Vacation is just hilarious. How difficult can it be to plan the ideal vacation? Now, Roy Walley’s magnificent park appears so far away, and while the possibility of a secret rendezvous with the seductive blonde in a fast, 1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi sounds appealing, Clark must do the right thing and reach the promised place. Clark Griswold, an American well-meaning paterfamilias, and his loving wife, Ellen, take their two teenage children, Rusty and Audrey, on a cross-country vacation from the suburbs of Chicago all the way to sunny California’s Walley World amusement park.Īnything that can go wrong will, and before long, Ellen’s cousin, Catherine, and her husband, Eddie, join the scene, and Clark is on the edge of blowing a gasket.