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The Great Outdoors

Play trailer Poster for The Great Outdoors PG 1988 1h 31m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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The Great Outdoors

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Heidi P Best John Candy Film ever made! A timeless comedy that never gets old! Too much going on to write it all in a review, but seriously if you have not watched it yet, what are you waiting for? You will Laugh until you cry at this movie! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/17/24 Full Review Spencer P Though fans of Dan Aykroyd and John Candy may get their fix, this slapstick comedy doesn't have enough slapstick or well-set-up scenarios to justify the more dramatic moments. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/16/24 Full Review Mitch L Great American classic and better than a lot of modern comedies. Definitely recommend watching this if you haven’t seen it and I don’t understand all the bad reviews Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Great Outdoors

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Cast & Crew

The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Big Bear Chase Me! The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Big Bear Chase Me! 2:40 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Suck My Wake The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Suck My Wake 2:53 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Chet and the Bald Bear The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Chet and the Bald Bear 2:34 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Horny the Bear The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Horny the Bear 2:26 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - It All Starts to Ooze Out The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - It All Starts to Ooze Out 2:54 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - He's on My Face! The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - He's on My Face! 2:05 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Golf and Go-Karts The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Golf and Go-Karts 0:34 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Baiting the Bears The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Baiting the Bears 2:56 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Accidental Waterskiing The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - Accidental Waterskiing 2:23 The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - The Old '96er The Great Outdoors: Official Clip - The Old '96er 2:55 View more videos
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Movie Info

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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