The Great Outdoors

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The Great Outdoors

PG

1988

1h 31m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

35 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

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

Jun 16, 2023

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Martha K. Baker

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"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.

Jun 16, 2023

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Steve Dollar

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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

Jun 16, 2023

Full Review

Tom Long

Santa Cruz Sentinel

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.

Jun 16, 2023

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Linda Cook

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

This possibly is the first time in cinematic history that raccoon-ese has been translated in subtitles.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 16, 2023

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Patrick Taggart

Austin American-Statesman

The sight of a bear running through the woods with bare buttocks probably has some superiors in the history of comedy. But not this week.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 16, 2023

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T D

Classic must-see movie, great cast, great acting all around, fun for all ages and the whole family everyone would enjoy. A classic comedy I enjoyed with my parents, and I will with my children as well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/25

Full Review

Audience Member

I think it’s a fun time I guess. I didn’t laugh a lot but I did enjoy a lot of what the film had to offer. So you know what, 3.5/5 stars.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/25

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Rckn R

Although a fun movie for its day, and a regular rental in the 90s, it doesn't stand the test of time . I hate saying that because Hughes is a genius. But watching it in 2025 shows it's limitations. And it's not a generational thing , Trains planes and automobiles stands the test of time. It seems thrown together. Borrowed alot from the original vacation. Too many campy tropes Borrowed from 80s films of the time. It's definitely worth a watch with the family on a weekend- but is not gut busting humor by any means.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Steve C

Jimmy Buffett music The old 96er "I think he's saying go faster" Candy bars at the bear dump Chasing the bat Love all of it ..

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/26/24

Full Review

Audience Member

If you are trying to describe what a Yuppie was to anybody under the age of 40, this is the movie to watch and Dan A. is said yuppie. The movie did not hold up and is as flat as it can be. Had totally forgotten it was a John Hughes movie and might be his worst movie ever. I'm not sure what they were shooting for in this movie. All form, no substance.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

Full Review

William B

One of the best comedies and one of the best movies in my DVD collection.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

Full Review

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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

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