National Lampoon's Vacation

R

Released Jul 29, 1983

1h 38m

Comedy

Adventure

List

94%

51 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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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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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

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Brian W

Awesome family comedy. It holds the test of time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/24

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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

Sam C

The character of Clark W. Griswald is iconic. Comedic gold. This movie is infinitely watchable and remains as funny today as it was the first time I watched it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/27/23

Full Review

Madie R

Join the Griswolds in one of the most laughable comedies ever made. When Harold Ramis, John Huges, and Chevy Chase come together you can guarantee a gallon of laughs and substantial madness.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/17/23

Full Review

Teddy B

A true gem among early 80's comedies with a surprisingly nihilistic streak that manages to find ultimate chemistry in pairing up lead actor Chevy Chase, director Harold Ramis, and writer John Hughes. This film hits the spot in finding our main character Clark Griswold to be a lovingly misguided and ambitious head of the family rather than just sticking with the convention of having him be the straight man in a coincidentally wacky world. A witty laugh riot from start to end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/27/23

Full Review

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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

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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

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

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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
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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