Product Description
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National Lampoons Vacation: The Griswold family drives
cross-country with an awesome tankful of laughter thanks to three
comedy pros: star Chevy Chase, writer John Hughes and director
Harold Ramis.
National Lampoons European Vacation: Europe wont survive Chevy
Chase and American family vacationers. Howl as they trigger chaos
all over a continent in a gutbusting sequel matching the original
in both high and low humor.
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation: Make merry as the
Griswolds including a pack of rib-tickling relatives played by an
ensemble of comedy favorites strive to gift-wrap the “perfect
Christmas” in the series most successful and enduring entry.
Ve Vacation: Hit the comedy jackpot with the Griswolds when
their next stop is Las Ve and the jokers are at their wildest
as goofy Cousin Eddie and an amorous Wayne Newton get caught up
in the hilarious hijinks.
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Vacation
Vacation paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the
1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct,
and/or produce The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off,
Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis
(Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stuart Saves His Family), the first
Vacation movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family:
her Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), son
Rusty (future Hughes ste Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter
Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a
cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way
to view the world's biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene
Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the
way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several
sequels--National Lampoon's European Vacation, National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation, and National Lampoon's Ve Vacation--but
this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of the
bunch. --Jim Emerson
Ve Vacation
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the casino, along
comes the Griswold family from the popular series of National
Lampoon's Vacation movies, raising a ruckus in the now
family-friendly gambling capitol of the world. Clark (Chevy
Chase), the bumbling Griswold patriarch, gets into his usual
quota of trouble--especially on a seeing trip to the Hoover
Dam (where puns on the word "dam" come fast, furious, and
idiotic). Meanwhile, Mrs. Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) gets to
sing an ear-piercing rendition of "Lovin' You" on stage with her
idol, Wayne Newton (one of the movie's comedic highlights), while
son Rusty poses as a high roller and daughter Audrey trains as an
exotic dancer. Randy Quaid reprises his scene-stealing role from
the original Vacation movie, but let's face it--the series had
already worn out its welcome, and this belated sequel earns a few
good laughs but hardly qualifies as a worthy revival. Not bad as
no-brainers go, but not up to par with the original film, and its
better sequels like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. --Jeff
Shannon
European Vacation
After winning a tour package in a game show, the bickering
Griswald family carve a trail of destruction through England
(where they knock over Stonehenge), France, Germany, and Italy.
Somehow Ellen (Bevery D'Angelo), the mom, gets kipped by
gangsters, leading to a car chase that reunites the family,
despite their differences. It's hard to believe that National
Lampoon's European Vacation is only the second of the Vacation
movies; it has the exhausted pallor of the last of a long series
of sequels, drained of all zest or original ideas. The charmless
smirk of Chevy Chase, mechanical in its idiocy, hangs over
European Vacation like a death . It's hard to believe that
this hack was once the funny and sexy hero of Foul Play. D'Angelo
keeps her chin up and gives the movie whatever class it may have;
she deserves better. --Bret Fetzer
Christmas Vacation
The third installment of the Griswold family saga is a
significant improvement over their previous vacation (National
Lampoon's European Vacation). Disaster-prone dad (Chevy Chase)
discovers just how dangerous the Christmas season really is, as
the Griswolds' old-fashioned holiday celebration turns out to be
more "Bah! Humbug!" than Christmas cheer. Chase is right at home
with the outrageous slapstick and often cheerfully tasteless
humor, and John Hughes's script is stuffed full of classic
Christmas movie references, but Randy Quaid practically steals
the film as the unemployed relative with his malicious grin and
mooching lifestyle. Not exactly a holiday classic and a bit
spotty, but this gag-filled comedy is just obnoxious enough for
the Scrooge lurking inside everyone. And fear not, a happy ending
awaits all. Watch for future star Juliette Lewis as Chase's
teenage daughter. --Sean Axmaker