In 1983 Chevy Chase started off down the road that would bring him the most success. He packed up the car with the wife and kids and headed off to Wally World for the first of 4 Vacations. This is not my favourite of the films, that would be Christmas Vacation, but you can never really fault the first in a series, since if it wasn’t for this film, we would never have gotten to experience a Griswold family X-mas in all of its dysfunctional glory.
This is a family road trip movie. Driving half way across the country to a theme park that ends up being closed for 2 weeks for cleaning and maintenance. That always confused me, what theme park would close in summer to make repairs? But if I took the logic comb to this movie, it would end up lasting all of 4 minutes. Needless to say, this flick is not about the end as much as the journey, spending that much time with anyone in a vehicle can be trying, never mind your own family. This is a great vehicle for Chevy Chase’s brand of comedy. His reactions are better then his jokes, and his obsession with Christie Brinkley is good for some laughs.
I brought this out of the vault because I saw it on TV, and since it getting close to christmas, I will be gearing up for my annual visit to the house with more lights the broadway, and visit from cousin Eddy. Got to love the holidays.
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