Maybe it’s just not the place you take this particular family.įrom some forced slapstick involving Clark and Ellen’s attempt to join the mile-high club to way too much Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), “Vegas Vacation” is almost completely free of laughs, logic and recognizable human behavior. “Clark, I don’t think that Las Vegas is the kind of place you take a family,” Ellen cautions. “Dad, Las Vegas There’s nothing to do there,” Audrey complains. So how did everything go so very, very wrong with “Vegas Vacation” Not only was it the first in the franchise not written by John Hughes, National Lampoon wouldn’t even put its name on it.Ĭlark’s announcement that he’s taking the family to Las Vegas is met with zero enthusiasm. And to this day, whenever I’m in a roundabout with another car, I can’t help but recite the Big Ben-Parliament scene.Įven after that misguided effort, it took only four years for the Griswolds to return in 1989’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Despite some cringe-worthy bits involving the Griswolds’ neighbors (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Guest), it’s become a holiday staple. Growing up, whenever we’d see an inappropriate display of public affection, one of my friends or I would inevitably quote Rusty’s emphatic, “Dad, I think he’s going to pork her!” In college, I spent five days in Paris looking for a shop that would embroider “Rusty” on a beret. The result is little more than a rushed money grab offering few genuine laughs, but it still made an impression on viewers of a certain age. Hughes was back for 1985’s “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” with Amy Heckerling (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) taking over directing duties. Gregory House to the leads of pretty much every series on FX.ĭespite the animal abuse, corpse desecration, kidnapping and public indecency - although it’s still hard to think of anything involving Christie Brinkley as indecent - the original “Vacation” became a comedy classic that cemented the reputation of second-time director Harold Ramis (“Caddyshack”) and launched the career of screenwriter John Hughes. Not only was “National Lampoon’s Vacation” a surprise hit, it was decades ahead of its time as viewers found themselves rooting for a sociopath long before that became the norm, thanks to everyone from Dexter Morgan to Dr. In 1983, frazzled food additives researcher Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) shoved his loving wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and their teenage children, Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall) and Audrey (Dana Barron), into their Family Truckster and dragged them from Chicago to Los Angeles amid a string of setbacks, misadventures and disturbing behavior. Here’s the thing, though: It absolutely matters if younger viewers have never heard of the original “Vacation.” Especially since, thanks to reruns on TBS, there’s a chance they’re only familiar with the dreadful “Vegas Vacation.” “The new vacation will stand on its own.” “I’ve never even heard of the original vacation,” his oldest son shrugs. One of the trailers for the sequel/reboot that finally opens July 29 shows an adult Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) reminiscing about the time he and his family drove across the country to visit the Walley World amusement park. Released in 1997, “Vegas Vacation” was so awful, so devoid of anything resembling entertainment, it took 18 years for the next installment, simply titled “Vacation,” to hit theaters. It’s certainly where the beloved “Vacation” franchise coughed and wheezed before expiring in a puddle of its own sick. In an era of high-profile musical residencies and six-figure nightly payouts to the world’s top DJs, it’s easy to forget that Las Vegas once was the place where entertainment careers went to die.
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