Written by John Hughes, Directed by Harold Ramis
| Starring: | Chevy Chase, Beverly D`Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid |
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Written by John Hughes, Directed by Harold Ramis
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The ubiquitous Griswold family of Chicago, in their original lineup, seeks to take a well-deserved middle class vacation out to the left coast to see their beloved Wallyland theme park, and to see some sights and visit relatives along the way.
They encounter many typical problems on the road-a wrong turn into a ghetto neighbourhood, Dad falling asleep at the wheel, bad motels and campgrounds and the disastrous stayover at a poor relative`s trailer home in the town of Bumf*ck, Anywhere, USA. Add to this an enigmatic cute chick who seems to be following Daddy as he drives, and you get the picture. (Trust YMP, for he has been on several long family car trips both before and during this era, and has seen and driven this road in person-there is a great deal of truth behind much of what you see here. But no fantasy girl ever came on to me , er, YMP whle he was driving!)
After all this and severe car trouble in the desert, our heroes finally reach their destination, only to find that the park is closed for repairs. Papa Griswold takes things into his own hands and forces a guard to take them on a full tour anyway. The sympathetic owner declines to press charges after hearing the full story, and everyone is happy in the end.
Trivia: Chevy appears to actually look up information about routes and hotels, etc on the internet when planning the trip early in the film! Good training for number one son Anthony Michael, for he would later grow up to portray Microsoft wizard Bill Gates on TV. Cameos by Christie Brinkley, Brian Doyle-Murray, Eugene Levy, John Candy and, most importantly, John P. Navin Jr. Also note the screenwriter-YMP predicts that this young man has a bright future!
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