Rating: 
Summary: Take a Trip Down the 'Holiday Road' with the Griswalds!
Review: Harold Ramis' second directorial effort, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, penned by 80s 'teen film master' John Hughes, lacks the 'over-the-top' madness of his first feature, CADDYSHACK, but offers Chevy Chase in what has become his signature role, and enough sight gags and one-liners to make it an enduring favorite, and start a franchise of VACATION films.
As Clark Griswold, Chase is the embodiment of an 'average American dad', none too bright, but anxious to take his family on a bonding cross-country 'dream vacation' to 'Disneyland' caricature, Wally World. From the opening moments, when he is conned by a smooth-talking salesman (a wickedly deadpan Eugene Levy) into buying a truly hideous station wagon for the trek, you know that this family outing is in for serious trouble! Nevertheless, his devoted wife, Ellen (sweet and sexy Beverly D'Angelo), and less-than-devoted kids, Rusty and Audrey (the terrific Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron) are sucked into Clark's dream, and soon the family is bouncing across the U.S.A., to the tune of Lindsey Buckingham's 'Holiday Road'.
The journey is a series of slapstick vignettes, ranging from hilarious (Chase's spectacular arrival at a motel, after falling asleep behind the wheel), to silly (the running appearances of supermodel Christie Brinkley, and Chase's attempts to look like a 'swinger' to impress her), to questionable (asking for directions in a Black ghetto of St. Louis, offering a variety of racial stereotypes that director Ramis himself says was in poor taste). A comic highpoint comes when the family visits unemployed cousin Eddie (the irrepressible Randy Quaid) and his 'trailer trash' family. While Eddie offers Clark 'used' beer and tries to hit him up for a 'small' loan to help put him 'back on his feet' ($52,000!), his wife serves up Hamburger Helper without hamburger, his son turns Rusty on to his pornographic magazine collection, and his oldest daughter shares with Audrey her expertise in 'French kissing' ("Daddy says I'm the best...") and stash of marijuana. As a final insult, acerbic Aunt Edna (the legendary Imogene Coca) and her psycho dog are dumped on the Griswalds...with ultimately calamitous results!
Finally, the family reaches Wally World...only to find it closed for annual cleaning and maintenance! In the original climax of the film, Chase then tracked down the home address of Walt Disney-based 'Roy Wally' (screen legend Eddie Bracken), and got revenge by trashing his mansion. This ending played disastrously with preview audiences, however, and the cast was reassembled (Hall had grown several inches...check it out!) and a hasty rewrite was shot, with Clark buying a BB gun, and forcing his way into the closed park, getting a security guard (the wonderful John Candy, in a cameo) to turn on the rides, and show them the '(bleep)in good time' he'd promised his family. An army of police and S.W.A.T. converge on the park, and Roy Wally arrives to decide their fate. The new ending got very positive feedback from audiences, and is the version seen in the final cut of the film.
VACATION was a major commercial hit when released, spawning three sequels (the second, CHRISTMAS VACATION, has become a holiday favorite, and is the best of the series). While the first film is certainly not a classic, it is a better film than some critics have implied, and has a loyal following.
Next time you plan a family vacation, check it out...and remember, don't tie your dog's leash on the rear bumper of the car!
Rating:
Summary: Road Trip!
Review: NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION is one of the funniest and best road trip movie's of all times. The film stars Chevy Chase (back when he used to make good movies) as Clark Griswold, a family man whose plans and dreams always seem to turn into nightmares. Clark has always wanted to take his family on a cross country trip and it finally happens. However, along the way everything that could go wrong does: from getting lost in East St. Louis, Illinois; to getting stuck driving an irate aunt (Imogene Coca) back to her home; to misplacing a family pet; to having their money stolen by some very slick (as in oil) car repairmen; to causing an incident at an American amusement institution. The film pokes fun at all sorts of ideals about the perfect vacation. For example, Wally World is a great parody of Walt Disney Land, the owner's name is Roy Wally (Roy Disney was in charge of Disney at the time the movie was made) and he looks a lot like Roy Disney. The movie also illustrates exactly what not to do on a family vacation. The film was directed by Harold Ramis and was written by John Hughes, both who went on to become huge mammoths of 1980's film. The does contain some nudity and foul language and because it was made in the pre-PG13 days has a R rating, though most of what is seen and heard is tame by today's PG-13 standards.The DVD of the film isn't in wide screen and the sound isn't as good as it could be. The only extras are some production and cast notes and the usual trailer. Over all it's a great comedy and the best of all the National Lampoon Vacation movies.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, funny comedy
Review: "Vacation" is an enjoyable, funny comedy that has spawned several sequels, but none have been as good as this one, the original. Chevy Chase is perfectly cast as "Clark Griswald," the determined father who leads his family from Illinios to see an amusement park in California. Along the way they encounter hilarious and sometimes truly bizarre situations. The rest of the cast are also good, especially Randy Quaid. Despite what you might think, "Vacation" is really not suited for little kids. The film is rated "R" because it has a fair amount of profanity, some of it quite strong, some nudity, and mature themes.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect summer, road trip movie
Review: The first of the "Vacation" movies and probably the funniest of the bunch. Chevy Chase stars in this movie about a family of four who decide to take a mid summer, cross country drive from Chicago to LA to the Wally World amusement park(which is really Six Flags Magic Mountain). Along the way they encounter all sorts of bad luck and irate people which at the same time makes this movie so funny. The farther they get the wackier Griswold acts. Written by John Hughes and casted very well, there are a lot of great actors in this movie including Christie Brinkley,Anthony Micheal Hall, Beverly DeAngelo, Randy Quaid, and more. One think I've found dissappointing with this is the lack of extras with the DVD. If you've ever driven across country or been on Vacation with your family you'll love this movie. Even if you've lived in an Igloo your whole life, you'll probably still love this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The Griswolds are going to Walley World...
Review: This is the greatest comedy movie in the vacation series behind Christmas Vacation(the funniest). Also some of the best acting Chase and D'Angelo have done. Basically, Clark(Chevy Chase) plays a family man who wants to take his family to Walley World, America's Favorite Fun Park. Ellen(Beverly D'Angelo) is Clark's sassy wife, and Rusty(Micheal King) and Audrey are their two kids. As always in the Vacation Series, everything goes wrong. First Clark's car gets crushed by an idiot at the car place. Then on their way through Chicago they get lost and end up in the ghuetto part of town where Clark pays $10 for nothing, and then falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into the motel parking lot. He then does a funny impresion of Alfred Hitchcock's Phsyco by grabbing a banana and heading towards the shower while Ellen's in it, then whips open the curtains and does a knife motion at her with the banana. They then continue their vacation, and Clark flirts with a notorius blonde chick(Christine Brinkley). Some other highlites of the movie are when Aunt Edna dies, when Clark has an outburst while driving, and when they get to walley World and it's closed. All in all, this is a great comedy movie! Rated "R"- Nudity and Explicit Language
Rating:
Summary: The family vacation series of all time
Review: This is one great movie the 1st from the Griswalds all 4 were funny they took a road trip to California.Blah Blah Blah
Yada Yada Yada this was a great movie to see funny Chedder.
Story 10 Acting 10 Directing 9 Action 10 Entertainment 10
Overall=49/50 wich is 98% a lot of laughs in this one Buy if you like movies this is pretty insane for you.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars - a comedy classic
Review: INTRODUCTION:
National Lampoon's Vacation was the first film in the Vacation series of films. For many years, the film has been hailed as a comedy classic. And according to most viewers of this series, the first film is the best one of all. Are they right? And is this twentieth anniversary edition of the DVD a worthwhile buy if you already got the original DVD issue? Read on for my review. BASIC PLOT:
The storyline of the film goes something like this. A middle-aged man working in the food preservation industry (Chevy Chase) wants to take his wife (Beverly D'Angelo) and children on a road trip to Walley World, one of the nation's biggest and best amusement parks. And he wants to do this in the new car he has ordered. But the vacation turns into a disaster almost instantly - the car company sends him the wrong car, and even once the vacation is in progress, one thing after another goes wrong - with each experience being even more devastating than the last. FILM OPINIONS: Anyone who calls this film a comedy classic is right. It's very rare that a film this funny comes along. The acting (Chevy Chase's in particular) is great, and the simplistic storyline prevents things from getting confusing. As has been previously stated, this film predated the Motion Picture Industry of America's PG-13 rating, so even though it's an R rating, it's really not much worse that a modern PG-13 is. If you haven't seen this movie yet, and you're a fan of comedies, what are you waiting for? DVD:
The so-called "special edition" version of the DVD is a huge disappointment - this is why this set loses half a star. The commentary track is pretty bland, and the "new extras" are pretty much worthless. I recommend getting the original DVD release of the movie, as it is generally priced lower, and NO, you won't be missing anything if you get that version. OVERALL:
Overall this film is a comedy masterpiece. Sure, the DVD could have been WAY better, but the movie itself more than makes up for this. Movies don't get a whole lot funnier than this one - so what are you waiting for? See it if you haven't yet!
Rating:
Summary: 50 Yards!
Review: its a great movie with michael anthony hall playing rusty chevy chase and randy quade as uncle eddie. its movie about a griswalds that go from chicago to wallyworld when they get there they find out its closed. john cnady plays the park ranger and chevy chase makes him go on all the rides with him. its funny from start to finsh
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: I always have loved this movie. I relate to this movie because it reminds me of my own American vacations. You can't go wrong with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Chevy Chase is at his best
Review: This is on of the top ten funniest movies in my list. Why do some people hate it so much. It's so funny. In this 20th Anniversary Special Edition of the hilarious film, there is a good transfer, a nice menu, and plenty of features. There is a nice little box set with all 4 of the films (Which I got for Christmas this year) which i recomemed you picking up.
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