National Lampoon's European Vacation

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Amy Heckerling

Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, Jason Lively

From: Warner Brothers

Considering what I last reviewed, I figured it was best that I see this next. This is something I have seen my fair share of times in my life and while it isn't as good as I used to think it was, I do not think it's bad. My short-ish review is below and I'll return tomorrow night.

Do you want to hear proof that I've seen this movie more than once or twice in my life? When in The Wolf of Wall Street you hear the song Ca Plane Pour Moi from Belgian musician Plastic Bertrand, the first thing I thought was, “Scorsese took a song that was also used in National Lampoon's European Vacation.”

As I watched the original Vacation the day before I figured I should see this too and talk about it. I know this isn't a popular film and I do understand why. It's not as good as the first, the teenaged characters of Rusty and Audrey were more annoying here (and the movie making fun of Audrey's weight is pretty unfortunate, especially considering the actress that played her died young due to complications from diabetes), it's not as strongly plotted, and there are obvious gags/stereotypes they go for (such as the French being rude, Germans loving alcohol or British people being overly polite).

Yet, while the flaws are more apparent now than they were back then, I can still rate this at 3 stars as there's enough laughs for me, the familiar faces (everyone from John Astin and Paul Bartel to Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane) do help out, and I am amused by that family living up (or down) to the idea of “dumb Americans”. I also appreciate such random moments that were well done such as when the family was on a train and they went out of their way to annoy each other without saying a word.

It may be nostalgia that's coloring my views now but I can still say that I like the film.