Review of National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) by Johnny T — 06 Mar 2011

Basically, this film starts out strong and ends strong. There are many gut grabbing scenes, and the film never resorts to gross out humor. Despite plenty of gross-out gags and dumb slapstick bits, the careful viewer can occasionally detect some acrid and original satire in this 1983 film. This boasts a great cast from start to finish, but the funniest moments in this film for me invariably come from Randy Quaid, who plays Chase's dumb country cousin. The result is a confident humor and throwaway style that helps sustain the laughs -- of which there are quite a few. National Lampoon's Vacation is an enjoyable trip through familiar comedy landscapes.

VERDICT: "Full Price" - Second highest rating in the system (Positive to Mixed reaction). This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theater to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent..