"You'll be whistling zippity-doo-dah out of your assholes!"
In hopes of being able to spend some much needed quality time with his family,
food additive designer Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), buys a new monster station
wagon and sets off on a cross-country road trip to visit the world-famous Wally
World amusement park in Los Angeles. Along the way, all kinds of crazy
shit happens. Everything from visiting inbred family members and eating
dog urine-marinated sandwiches to skinny dipping in a freezing swimming
pool. And let's not forget Christie Brinkley as the "Girl in the
Ferrari". God only knows how many kids busted a nut to her back in the
80's! I know of, at least, one!
Newer audiences today will probably find NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION to be dated
and lame, but as a child of the 1980's I have a soft spot for it and can't even
tell you how many times I've seen it. Dozens, easily. Quick pace,
iconic characters, quotable lines ("Yeah, but Daddy says I'm the best at it."), nice scenery, ancient electronics, 80's fashions, a stack of nudie books
this high, great acting by everybody, a moose getting punched in the
nose, yo mama gettin' fucked, people whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of their
assholes, Eugene Levy as a car salesman,
Beverly D'Angelo topless, John Candy as a security guard and probably the highlight of the film to me:
a surprise appearance by Eddie Bracken!! Just the mere sight of him
brought up memories of the wedding scene in
THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK
and I immediately started smiling ear to ear.
Highly recommended. An absolute must watch for anybody interested in 80's
movies.
Part 2 - National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
Part 3 - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Part 4 - Vegas Vacation (1997)
Part 5 - Vacation (2015)