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National Lampoon's Vacation

Play trailer Poster for National Lampoon's Vacation R 1983 1h 38m Comedy Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.
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National Lampoon's Vacation

National Lampoon's Vacation

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Critics Consensus

Blessed by a brilliantly befuddled star turn from Chevy Chase, National Lampoon's Vacation is one of the more consistent -- and thoroughly quotable -- screwball comedies of the 1980s.

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Critics Reviews

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Gary Arnold Washington Post 06/24/2015
Half-baked but occasionally hilarious, National Lampoon's Vacation gets a reasonable amount of mileage out of depicting the disaster-prone journey of a "typical" family of four, the Griswolds of suburban Chicago. Go to Full Review
Duane Byrge The Hollywood Reporter 10/07/2009
This is one Vacation trip not to be missed. Go to Full Review
Variety Staff Variety 05/07/2008
National Lampoon's Vacation is an enjoyable trip through familiar comedy landscapes. Go to Full Review
Mark Jackson Epoch Times 08/01/2023
3.5/5
"Vacation," and especially cousin Eddie have long become oft-referenced parts of the American pop culture lexicon. While not from this episode, we all know the two-word response for when your bathroom's not working. Isn't that national treasure territory? Go to Full Review
Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed 07/16/2023
Sets the standard for the sub-genre of road trip films, and it’s still the best of its ilk... Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 07/14/2023
3.5/5
Some jokes feel a rewrite away from leaning into the right sort of stereotyping rather than the more offensive ones. Still, the comedy's vision of ugly Americanism in America and the scourge of suburbanite selfishness helps it scoot past its problems. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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TheFilmCritics @TheFilmCritics 2d Some family vacations are doomed before the car leaves the driveway, and National Lampoon’s Vacation turns that disaster into a winning comedy of errors. Chevy Chase is ideally cast as Clark Griswold, balancing his absurd optimism and spectacular lack of common sense with an oddly appealing sincerity, while Beverly D’Angelo and a memorable supporting cast keep the chaos grounded. The road-trip format delivers plenty of inspired detours, from Cousin Eddie to Clark’s increasingly desperate attempts to preserve the perfect holiday, giving the film an enjoyably unpredictable rhythm. Not every gag lands, however, and some broad, dated humor feels more grating than hilarious; Clark’s behavior occasionally crosses from lovable incompetence into genuine unpleasantness. Yet beneath the vulgarity is a warm portrait of a family whose idealized getaway keeps colliding with reality. Chaotic and uneven but consistently entertaining, it remains a durable comedy built on characters worth revisiting. See more S A @Moviepopcornjoy 5d A classic. A story with ageless humor. As barriers keep arising, “ Clarke Gwiswald” is set on getting the family to Wally World. Humor is found in so many of those situations. It’s very funny. See more Vincent S @Vin_E_At_The_Movies Jul 24 A treasure of a classic comedy with so many moments of truth you nod a lot in recognition. This and Christmas Vacation are Chevy Chase’s best performances. The cast is full of small, great pieces of comedy by an amazing cast. I laughed out loud a lot and Lindsey Buckingham’s title song is a classic. One of the best comedies of the 80s. See more Allen R @AL_SeesALotOfMovies Jul 6 Hilarious family road trip. See more Brent A @BrentAprill45 Jul 1 40% rating ... I think this film is overrated. I could see why a ton of people enjoyed it and thought it was funny, especially in the early 1980's. I don't think a lot of the jokes stood the test of time. But there was a couple of really hilarious one-liners. Worth a view, but like most comedies, it's a hit or miss depending on your humor preference. See more Vikki E @RT78111898 Jun 7 Born in 79 so grew up watching these films, absolutely love it even now in 2026! Cant beat the older films See more Read all reviews
National Lampoon's Vacation

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Movie Info

Synopsis Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.
Director
Harold Ramis
Producer
Matty Simmons
Screenwriter
John Hughes
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 29, 1983, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 38m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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