Now is the Time for "Vacation"

There are always those movies that fall through the cracks, that it makes no sense for a rabid movie fan of a certain age not to have seen at least once. In my case, many comedies of the 1980s passed me by, including one particular cultural touchstone about the epic journey of a nuclear family traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles to visit a theme park during their two-week vacation. I was bereft of its unique take on the American experience, one whose influence I knew was strong. I learned about the Griswold family and Walley World secondhand from copious references and spoofs. I could recognize the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, even though I didn't know its name. But aside from a couple of minutes of "Christmas Vacation" that I stumbled across on television at some point in the early 90s, the "Vacation" franchise was unknown to me.

No more. Yesterday I brought home the original 1983 "National Lampoon's Vacation," directed by Harold Ramis, written by John Hughes, and starring Chevy Chase in his 1980s prime as Clark Griswold. Beverly D'Angelo played his wife Ellen, and Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron would be the first in a long line of actors to play the Griswold kids, Rusty and Audrey. It was like finding a time capsule from my youth, bringing back memories of endless car trips with the family across the western United States, sharing hotel rooms with my brother and grandmother, and especially of my father, who had a tendency to take detours miles out of our way to discover some forgotten tourist attraction he could pose us next to for pictures. And Walley World? The dressings were different, but all the rides were obviously from Six Flags Magic Mountain, practically my own back yard! Sure, the Griswolds had more risqué adventures - I'm always caught off guard by the amount of swearing, nudity, and drug references I routinely find in what I thought were family films from the era - but I knew them all too well.

One thing that struck me was how utterly, ridiculously simple the film was. Aside from a few shots at the beginning and toward the end, nothing looked fabricated. It looked like the cast and crew simply went on the road and shot scenes wherever it was convenient for them. A similar film made today would be much more elaborate and cost millions in set dressing. Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold is only a slightly caricatured take on the average family man up until he snaps. Today, the studios would get Robin Williams and you end up with "RV," or Zach Galifianakis, and you end up with "Due Date." "Vacation" is the nightmare car trip where everything that can go wrong does go wrong, but I think the secret is that everything goes wrong the way it actually tends to go wrong, and the movie only strains credibility a little bit here and there. There are no complicated schemes or major relationship troubles to distract us, no outsized obstacles to overcome aside from unsavory relatives and the inability to read a map. The story remains relatable because for a majority of the time the Griswolds are operating in reality, and reality is aggravating enough for most of us.

I don't think that "Vacation" was meant to be a parade of cameos, but I couldn't help ticking off the names as it went along. There was Eugene Levy as the unscrupulous car salesman who sells the Griswolds the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, Imogene Coca as poor Aunt Edna, Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie, and a very young Jane Krakowski as Cousin Vicki. Christie Brinkley was the girl in the red Ferrari, of course, and I cheered at the appearance of John Candy as the hapless Walley World security guard. And it tickled me to no end that "Vacation," the source of so many references and in-jokes I was finally privy to, made its own brief pop culture references. Walley World and its creator are clearly inspired by Disneyland and Walt Disney, and Marty Moose is a stand-in for Mickey Mouse. The sprint across the parking lot is set to the "Chariots of Fire" theme, and the cops arrive to a "Dragnet" style musical sting.

No surprise, I enjoyed the heck out of "Vacation," and I think I'll be poking around in 80s comedies for a little longer. "Fletch" is next on the list, and I am very tempted to go and finish "Christmas Vacation." Of course a new "Vacation" reboot/sequel is on the way next year with Ed Helms as the latest Rusty Griswold, and I welcome it. Some 80s movies would only work in the 80s, but "Vacation" is a concept that should easily transcend the decades. After all, my father has yet to tire of long car trips, and Six Flags Magic Mountain is still going strong.
---