The Great Outdoors

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The Great Outdoors

PG

1988

1h 31m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

It's vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley (John Candy), along with his wife, Connie (Stephanie Faracy), and their two kids, Buck (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti). But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie's obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd), his wife, Kate (Annette Bening), and the couple's two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

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Critics Consensus

Even with a pair of talented comedians trying their best, vacation-from-hell comedy The Great Outdoors is merely mediocre.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

06/16/2023

In short, "The Great Outdoors" has the wit of "Summer Rental" and the sparkle of "Harry and the Hendersons."

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Martha K. Baker

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

06/16/2023

"The Great Outdoors" succeeds as a perfect summer's movie: not too deep, not too long, not too verbally witty or politically witty, not too embarrassing, not too sexy. Just a good time in air conditioning.

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Steve Dollar

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

06/16/2023

It's impossible to watch Candy and not laugh, even when the shtick is as stock as bear chases and bat combat.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Apr 4

3/5

‘…an agreeable lazy watch, even just for the impromptu dance-party at the end…’

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Oct 9

3/5

The Great Outdoors delivers a mix of laughs and chaos, largely thanks to Candy and Aykroyd’s comedic chemistry.

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Tom Long

Santa Cruz Sentinel

06/16/2023

Dan Aykroyd has been in some absolutely terrible movies. John Candy has been in some absolutely terrible movies. Now they're in the same absolutely terrible movie.

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Matthew D

@OceanSage Jan 3

John Candy was a real treasure. Director Howard Deutch’s family comedy The Great Outdoors (1988) is super funny with an outstanding pair of lead comedic performances by John Candy and Dan Aykroyd. John Candy is simply delightful as the sweet father Chet Ripley, who just wants a nice, quiet fishing vacation with his wife and kids. He does feel like a regular guy you’d know. Candy’s big Kodiak bear story is a blast. Stephanie Faracy is super cute as Chet’s beloved wife Connie Ripley, who is quite playful opposite Candy. Dan Aykroyd is a riot as the obnoxious rich snob Roman Craig, who is constantly trying to one-up John Candy’s Chet, ruining his nice vacation. Annette Bening appears in her first film as Roman’s annoying wife Katie Craig. Chris Young is fun as Chet’s eldest son Buck Ripley. It’s crazy he went on to portray Max Headroom and be one of the executives at Nickelodeon. I love Bart the Bear, which is this giant grizzly bear that terrorizes John Candy.

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Jason L.

@Blueshadow1024 Dec 14

John Candy and Dan Akroyd are such an enjoyable duo that makes this movie such a treat to watch. Enjoyable 80s comedy.

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mark g

@Mark_Alan_G. Dec 13

This could have been a great movie. You got Candy and Aykroyd in the leads, both legends. You got a talent in Bening as well. So what went wrong? The horribly tacked on kids. Every scene that focuses on the kids dies, they are lacking talent and well defined roles. Aykroyd can resurrect the story for awhile, but it just becomes too much. My rating might be a tad harsh but only because of the blown potential.

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Zach B

@ZachBasham67 Dec 7

Although there were funny moments, a lot of them felt forced and didn’t land

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Creek

@Mister_BigBlock Nov 28

“I’ve been to Duluth”

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Mike F.

@mjfnow Nov 25

I loved it very much John Candy and Dan Ackroyd make a great team

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Howard Deutch

Director

Dan Aykroyd

Roman Craig

John Candy

Chet Ripley

Stephanie Faracy

Connie Ripley

Annette Bening

Kate Craig

Robert Prosky

Wally

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Big Bear Chase Me!

2:40

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Suck My Wake

2:53

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Chet and the Bald Bear

2:34

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Horny the Bear

2:26

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - It All Starts to Ooze Out

2:54

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - He's on My Face!

2:05

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Golf and Go-Karts

0:34

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Baiting the Bears

2:56

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Accidental Waterskiing

2:23

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - The Old '96er

2:55

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Synopsis

It's vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley (John Candy), along with his wife, Connie (Stephanie Faracy), and their two kids, Buck (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti). But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie's obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd), his wife, Kate (Annette Bening), and the couple's two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

Director: Howard Deutch
Producer: Arne Schmidt
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Production Co: Hughes Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.3M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Surround