Review of National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) by The W — 14 Jan 2016

Up until January 2016, I'd only seen bits and pieces of Vacation--my favorite scene being when Clark punches that moose. I had high expectations for what has become a classic American film. So, I finally watched it in one go, start to finish, and.

..I found it to be overrated. It was written by John Hughes, who wrote & directed my beloved Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and you can see some parallels to that later film (the car that John Candy & Steve Martin burn up in PT&A bears a similar look to the Griswold's station wagon, for example).

I think the reason I liked Vacation less than PT&A is that the Griswolds cause their own problems whereas things happen in PT&A that are out of the characters' control. I don't feel sorry for the Griswolds, but I feel a little sorry for Neil Page & Dell Griffith.