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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
255 .......................... 280
__________________________
August 16th
—— 1983 ——
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S
VACATION
—— comedy ——
Every summer Chevy Chase takes his family on a little trip
This year he went too far
Based upon the side gag short story dubbed ‘Vacation ‘58’ from the National Lampoon's magazine, I wasn't surprised that this film felt like a feature length sketch show, which had been turned into a crazy supercut of insanity mixed with far-fetched characters and short-fused situations. I was, however, surprised at how well the hilarity translated to the screen without feeling too fragmented or frustrating. I’m not trying to make a pitch perfect parallel here, but this movie felt familiar to the approach in The Blues Brothers, as well as having the same kind of clear cut concept and caricatures. It does make sense since National Lampoon actually developed a sketch show based on their insane ideas, which also happened to start the career of John Belushi, who would later rise to fame with SNL and his role in The Blues Brothers – a movie that was also build around sketch comedy and based upon prior material…
Without getting sidetracked too much, I better make my way down the right path and talk about the right road movie, that is ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’. Hold on to your hats, because I actually don’t think I have ever seen this film in full. I might not even have seen it at all, but I do know about the comedy sensation that became of this vacation and what kind of legacy it has to its name. With that said, I don’t think I was sure what to expect with this one, but at least the director knows how to introduce his audience and make them feel at home in the humor and alone with a sane personality. The characters are not nearly as artificially amplified as many of the comedies of today, since they have a robust humane base to them, which creates a strong bond between the viewer and the characters. We may be loosely skipping from one skit to other, but the director did a great job at keeping things fluent, as well as free from pointless puns tacked to an irrational incoherent structure. There seemed to be a meaning to all the madness, where pretty much every joke jumped into the next one or build from the previous one.
As I mentioned earlier, the director understood the importance of inserting both the amusements and atmospheric vibe during the beginning, so that the audience would know what kind of movie they were dealing with – instead of being tricked into a story that would depart drastically from its structure later on. ‘Vacation’ succeeds in giving you a warm and welcoming family comedy, which does dare to step over the line and deliver something a little riskier and discreetly raunchier than you would think. I know this is an R-rated film, but honestly it doesn’t feel that way. It has a great balance to it, which leaves you wanting more instead of feeling worn out by the presence of jokes and characters circulating themselves for the entire runtime. I did feel like the last few minutes went on for a little too long, but that is only minor complains. This is fun and fearsome comedy with a great selection of gags and some seriously funny situations – most of that thanks to Chevy Chase’s comedic presence, John Hughes’ sharp script and Harold Ramis’ loose and liberating approach combined with a cool dead-on direction… oh, and of course, with the catchy “Holiday Road” playing in the background securing this racing vacation as a prominent part of comedy culture, influence and legacy!
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... current day count
255 .......................... 280
__________________________
August 16th
—— 1983 ——
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S
VACATION
—— comedy ——
Every summer Chevy Chase takes his family on a little trip
This year he went too far
Based upon the side gag short story dubbed ‘Vacation ‘58’ from the National Lampoon's magazine, I wasn't surprised that this film felt like a feature length sketch show, which had been turned into a crazy supercut of insanity mixed with far-fetched characters and short-fused situations. I was, however, surprised at how well the hilarity translated to the screen without feeling too fragmented or frustrating. I’m not trying to make a pitch perfect parallel here, but this movie felt familiar to the approach in The Blues Brothers, as well as having the same kind of clear cut concept and caricatures. It does make sense since National Lampoon actually developed a sketch show based on their insane ideas, which also happened to start the career of John Belushi, who would later rise to fame with SNL and his role in The Blues Brothers – a movie that was also build around sketch comedy and based upon prior material…
Without getting sidetracked too much, I better make my way down the right path and talk about the right road movie, that is ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’. Hold on to your hats, because I actually don’t think I have ever seen this film in full. I might not even have seen it at all, but I do know about the comedy sensation that became of this vacation and what kind of legacy it has to its name. With that said, I don’t think I was sure what to expect with this one, but at least the director knows how to introduce his audience and make them feel at home in the humor and alone with a sane personality. The characters are not nearly as artificially amplified as many of the comedies of today, since they have a robust humane base to them, which creates a strong bond between the viewer and the characters. We may be loosely skipping from one skit to other, but the director did a great job at keeping things fluent, as well as free from pointless puns tacked to an irrational incoherent structure. There seemed to be a meaning to all the madness, where pretty much every joke jumped into the next one or build from the previous one.
As I mentioned earlier, the director understood the importance of inserting both the amusements and atmospheric vibe during the beginning, so that the audience would know what kind of movie they were dealing with – instead of being tricked into a story that would depart drastically from its structure later on. ‘Vacation’ succeeds in giving you a warm and welcoming family comedy, which does dare to step over the line and deliver something a little riskier and discreetly raunchier than you would think. I know this is an R-rated film, but honestly it doesn’t feel that way. It has a great balance to it, which leaves you wanting more instead of feeling worn out by the presence of jokes and characters circulating themselves for the entire runtime. I did feel like the last few minutes went on for a little too long, but that is only minor complains. This is fun and fearsome comedy with a great selection of gags and some seriously funny situations – most of that thanks to Chevy Chase’s comedic presence, John Hughes’ sharp script and Harold Ramis’ loose and liberating approach combined with a cool dead-on direction… oh, and of course, with the catchy “Holiday Road” playing in the background securing this racing vacation as a prominent part of comedy culture, influence and legacy!
__________________________