National Lampoon's Vacation

Play trailer

National Lampoon's Vacation

R

Released Jul 29, 1983

1h 38m

Comedy

Adventure

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Gary Arnold

Washington Post

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.

Jun 24, 2015

Full Review

Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

This is one Vacation trip not to be missed.

Oct 7, 2009

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

National Lampoon's Vacation is an enjoyable trip through familiar comedy landscapes.

May 7, 2008

Full Review

Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

"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?

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 1, 2023

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Sets the standard for the sub-genre of road trip films, and it’s still the best of its ilk...

Jul 16, 2023

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 14, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Cork B

Not as funny as I recalled, but still a classic. Similar to Ferris Bueller, but maybe even more tongue in cheek. There are some pretty funny moments here, but one of the things that turned me off was the uneven tone - it is part goofy road trip comedy and part family dysfunction in a dark way. The way they dealt with infidelity was just horrendous, although casting Chevy Chase in a darker role was good (maybe Bill Murray could have pulled it off too, although he wasn't as big then).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

Full Review

Harrison R

Gave up after 15 minutes. This film is clearly only meant for children under 12. Slapstick and slow-pacing and not much else.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/24

Full Review

Nick R

An absolute classic comedy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/25/24

Full Review

Blu B

It balances being raunchy, dark, and light hearted the entire way perfectly and is very much a satire of the middle american life. But more important than anything....it's hilarious. There is not one joke that didn't at least get a chuckle or a big laugh the entire way. It also is really well edited too and follows a pretty sharp and funny script. Chevy Chase nails it here and balances the dark and light hearted tone perfectly and is the best thing in this. Lots of the jokes are visually based also and while simple are set up pretty cleverly. It's the perfect balance of light heartedness and raunchy dark humor. Everyone should give this a try once.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

Full Review

Brian W

Awesome family comedy. It holds the test of time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/24

Full Review

Audience Member

National Lampoon's Vacation is a funny road trip comedy film, with plenty of quotable lines from Chevy Chase's character; Clark Griswold, and characters that you can't help but hate. It's not perfect, but it's an all around great comedy film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Harold Ramis

Director

Chevy Chase

Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.

Beverly D'Angelo

Ellen Griswold

Christie Brinkley

The Girl in the Ferrari

Anthony Michael Hall

Russell "Rusty" Griswold

Imogene Coca

Aunt Edna

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

National Lampoon's Senior Trip

0%

55%

National Lampoon's Senior Trip

Watchlist

Vacation

27%

45%

Vacation

Watchlist

The Lost Boys

75%

85%

The Lost Boys

Watchlist

Burglar

27%

38%

Burglar

Watchlist

A Clockwork Orange

86%

93%

A Clockwork Orange

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New 4K UHD Movies in June 2023: Upcoming 4K Releases on Blu-ray

10 Movie Amusement Parks to Inspire Your Summer Vacations

15 Certified Fresh Road Trip Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), 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)

Most Popular at Home Now