The Griswold Family Headed to Europe in National Lampoon's European Vacation
Written: Aug 29 '07 (Updated Sep 19 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Funny, entertaining movie.
Cons: Audrey was very annoying.
The Bottom Line: National Lampoon's European Vacation was a funny entertaining movie that is worth watching. People that have liked the other Vacation movies may also enjoy this one.
dragonfire88's Full Review: National Lampoon's European Vacation
After the success of National Lampoon's Vacation, it wasn’t surprising that a sequel was made a few years later. National Lampoon's European Vacation sent the family off to Europe.
The Griswold family appeared on a game show, Pig in a Poke, that required them to dress up in pig outfits. They managed to win the grand prize which was a trip to Europe. Clark was more excited than anyone else about the trip. Audrey didn’t want to go because she’d be away from her boyfriend Jack for two weeks. Rusty didn’t seem too happy about the trip either and Ellen was just trying to keep peace in the family. The family spent some time in England before visiting France, Germany, and Italy with Audrey whining about Jack the entire trip. The family got on each other’s nerves and had several things go wrong, including meeting a thief.
National Lampoon’s European Vacation took place sometime after the end of the first movie though it wasn’t said exactly how much time had passed. Clark did wear a Wally World sweatshirt at one point. I don’t remember hearing any references to what happened in the first movie. The plot to this movie was very similar since it involved the family going on another disaster filled vacation. There were some differences since the vacation was in Europe instead of somewhere in the United States.
Almost all of the movie took place somewhere in Europe. The family was shown on the game show and briefly at home before leaving on the trip. The rest of the movie involved the trip and the different places they visited in Europe. Some well known tourist attractions like Stonehenge and the Eiffel Tower were at least briefly seen. The family did actually visit some of the famous places. Others were just shown in the backgrounds of scenes while something else was going on. The family did have to deal with different cultures throughout the trip and it was interesting to see them try to do that. Clark did some rather goofy things while trying to fit in.
National Lampoon’s European Vacation was a funny movie overall. I don’t think it was as funny as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but it was still entertaining. Several funny things happened to the family throughout their vacation. The laughs started right at the beginning of the movie when the family was dressed up in the pig costumes for the game show. There were a few slap stick type of things done for humor in a few scenes. Most of the humor came from things that happened during the trip like when the family was visiting Clark’s relatives in Germany. Clark really didn’t have one of his meltdowns like has happened in the other movies.
It was made clear very early in the movie that Clark and Ellen still had a passionate marriage when Ellen did a suggestive song and dance for Clark. There were a few sexual situations without any actual sex scenes being in the movie. Before they left on the trip, Audrey spent most of one scene making out with Jack in front of her family. Rust had a chance to make out with a girl he had just met in Germany. There was some nudity in two scenes that took place in Europe. The first scene included several topless women that were performing in some sort of show. The movie was rated PG-13, so parents should keep that in mind before letting their kids watch the movie. They may not want them to see the unedited version.
The Griswold family returned from the first movie. Clark continued to be the main character. He was obsessed with having a perfect vacation again which did stress out Ellen at times. Chevy Chase was perfect in the part. I also liked Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen. They did make a believable married couple. Ellen loved her husband even though he annoyed her at times.
Rusty and Audrey weren’t as enthused about the trip. Audrey didn’t want to leave her boyfriend Jack and she whined about missing him all the time. She was extremely annoying and irritating and the most unlikable character in the movie. She truly ended up being one of the most annoying characters out of all of the movies I’ve seen. I hated to hear her say anything. Rusty wasn’t as annoying and didn’t bother me like Audrey did. Both of them were played by different actors than in the first movie. Eric Idle turned up in a few scenes as someone that Clark kept managing to hurt. John Astin appeared briefly at the beginning of the movie as the host of the game show.
Main Cast
John Astin - Kent Winkdale Chevy Chase - Clark Griswold Beverly D’Angelo - Ellen Griswold Dana Hill - Audrey Griswold Eric Idle - The Bike Rider Jason Lively - Rusty Griswold
Amy Heckerling - Director
DVD Information
I recently picked up National Lampoon’s European Vacation on DVD. The disc has the widescreen version of the movie and a commentary by Chevy Chase. That was it for any extras.
National Lampoon’s European Vacation is a somewhat silly but funny and entertaining movie. People who have enjoyed the other Vacation movies will probably like this one as well.
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