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National Lampoon's European Vacation

Play trailer Poster for National Lampoon's European Vacation PG-13 1985 1h 34m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
37% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
After winning a European vacation on a game show, Clark Griswold convinces his reluctant family to accompany him. His wife, Ellen, is excited, but daughter Audrey is reluctant to leave her boyfriend behind, while teen son Rusty dreams of meeting girls. After arriving in London, the clan encounters one disaster after another as they travel through France, Germany and Italy, while Clark's attempts to cheer everyone up make things worse.
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National Lampoon's European Vacation

National Lampoon's European Vacation

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Critics Consensus

European Vacation charts a course through a succession of pretty destinations, but the journey itself lacks the laughs that made the original outing so memorable.

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Critics Reviews

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Sheila Benson Los Angeles Times 08/13/2020
The film spares us no stereotypes. Go to Full Review
Time Out Staff Time Out 08/13/2020
3/5
Overall, it's not quite funny or memorable enough. Go to Full Review
Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 08/13/2020
Broad, sketchlike, and arbitrarily assembled, Amy Heckerling's 1985 film fritters away the considerable credit of relative psychological realism and dramatically consistent situations built up by its predecessor... Go to Full Review
Sierra Filucci Common Sense Media 08/17/2023
3/5
This broad comedy touches on all the funny and awful elements of family travel, from bickering siblings to managing unfamiliar customs. Go to Full Review
David Parkinson Radio Times 08/13/2020
3/5
Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo's infectious enthusiasm manages to sweep you along (as begrudgingly as kids Jason Lively and Dana Hill) on this cliché-ridden package tour. Go to Full Review
David Elliott Copley News Service 01/30/2019
It must have been fun for the film's makers to work in London, Paris, Rome and Southern Germany, but their fun didn't get exported to us. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alex A. @TheKriticKid Dec 20 This a really good movie but it isn’t as good as the first vacation. I really recommend this movie👍 See more M G Dec 18 The first Vacation is one of my favorite movies, and I can rewatch Vegas and Christmas Vacation as well. This is the weakest of the bunch. It's not that funny. The kids are not the same, which is okay for Audrey..Dana Hill is a fine substitute..but I am really missing the dorky charm of Anthony Michael Hall here. There are so many European stereotypes at play you can pretty much predict them. I like when they knock over Stonehenge, but that's really the only thing memoriable. See more Christopher J @chrisjohnson Aug 28 dang i remember this being alot funnier than it was but still a good watch See more Michael B @BlackCloud13 Aug 7 Lacks all the charm of its predecessors. Frivels away the history of the classic franchise on cheap, predictable plot points strung together like separate bits. Now I know why I never saw it anywhere before I sought it out. Thoroughly unfunny. A real dud. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 21 Funny in 1 hour and 34 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Language Throughout and Crude/Sexual Humor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswald, who takes his family across the European continent after they win the vacation on a hilarious game show called "Pig in a Poke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" See more thiago s @Thiagostone Mar 23 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é mais ou menos, ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é mais ou menos, o filme tem cenas com mais diálogos do que cenas de ação, mas o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores. See more Read all reviews
National Lampoon's European Vacation

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Movie Info

Synopsis After winning a European vacation on a game show, Clark Griswold convinces his reluctant family to accompany him. His wife, Ellen, is excited, but daughter Audrey is reluctant to leave her boyfriend behind, while teen son Rusty dreams of meeting girls. After arriving in London, the clan encounters one disaster after another as they travel through France, Germany and Italy, while Clark's attempts to cheer everyone up make things worse.
Director
Amy Heckerling
Producer
Matty Simmons
Screenwriter
John Hughes, Robert Klane
Distributor
Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 1985, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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