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The Great Outdoors
The writer and director of Pretty in Pink reunited for a mostly forgettable slapstick comedy from 1988 called The Great Outdoors that really hasn't aged well, but does provide some believable character relationships, though the film isn't as roll-on-the-floor funny as I remembered, especially a lot of human VS bear interaction.
The late John Candy plays Chet Ripley, who is excited about the family getaway he has planned with his family at the Canadian mountain cabin where he spent his honeymoon. Chet's plans for a blissful vacation come to crashing halt with the arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law, Royal, played by Dan Aykroyd and his family, who show up at the cabin uninvited.
With names like John Hughes behind the camera and John Candy and Aykroyd in front of it, one expects a comedy with non-stop laughs and plenty of physical comedy. There is plenty of physical comedy and there are sporadic laughs provided along the way, but not as many as one would expect given the film's pedigree. On the other hand, the film remains watchable thanks to some very realistic performances by the stars and by Stephanie Faracy and Annette Bening, who bring a richness to their roles as the guys' wives that really isn't in the screenplay.
Another unexpected element of this comedy is the casting of the two leads. On the surface, the role of Chet seems more suited to Aykroyd and the role of Royal seems more like Candy. As the film progresses though, it seems that Hughes and director Howard Deutch did this on purpose because we don't expect Candy to play the straight man, but the surprise is that he does a superb job of it, playing a lot of what happens here with a pretty straight face and letting Aykroyd shine in the showier role and yet he never allows Aykroyd to blow him off the screen either. Candy shines in that scene where he scares the hell out of his family telling them the ghost story about the bear and during his triumphant consumption of a 96-ounce steak. Was also impressed with the argument between the four principles that concludes with Roman and family packing up to leave...a viable tension is created by the four actors that is quite effective.
What I didn't buy is a lot of the slapstick involving the characters' various interactions with bears that just didn't ring true. I didn't believe for a minute that two bears would ride on top of Candy's car because of a Zagnut bar and there's no way the principals would have survived that bear attack in the finale IRL, which just got really silly, but the casting of Candy against type and Aykroyd investing in a pretty annoying character do sustain interest, if not big belly laughs.
The writer and director of Pretty in Pink reunited for a mostly forgettable slapstick comedy from 1988 called The Great Outdoors that really hasn't aged well, but does provide some believable character relationships, though the film isn't as roll-on-the-floor funny as I remembered, especially a lot of human VS bear interaction.
The late John Candy plays Chet Ripley, who is excited about the family getaway he has planned with his family at the Canadian mountain cabin where he spent his honeymoon. Chet's plans for a blissful vacation come to crashing halt with the arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law, Royal, played by Dan Aykroyd and his family, who show up at the cabin uninvited.
With names like John Hughes behind the camera and John Candy and Aykroyd in front of it, one expects a comedy with non-stop laughs and plenty of physical comedy. There is plenty of physical comedy and there are sporadic laughs provided along the way, but not as many as one would expect given the film's pedigree. On the other hand, the film remains watchable thanks to some very realistic performances by the stars and by Stephanie Faracy and Annette Bening, who bring a richness to their roles as the guys' wives that really isn't in the screenplay.
Another unexpected element of this comedy is the casting of the two leads. On the surface, the role of Chet seems more suited to Aykroyd and the role of Royal seems more like Candy. As the film progresses though, it seems that Hughes and director Howard Deutch did this on purpose because we don't expect Candy to play the straight man, but the surprise is that he does a superb job of it, playing a lot of what happens here with a pretty straight face and letting Aykroyd shine in the showier role and yet he never allows Aykroyd to blow him off the screen either. Candy shines in that scene where he scares the hell out of his family telling them the ghost story about the bear and during his triumphant consumption of a 96-ounce steak. Was also impressed with the argument between the four principles that concludes with Roman and family packing up to leave...a viable tension is created by the four actors that is quite effective.
What I didn't buy is a lot of the slapstick involving the characters' various interactions with bears that just didn't ring true. I didn't believe for a minute that two bears would ride on top of Candy's car because of a Zagnut bar and there's no way the principals would have survived that bear attack in the finale IRL, which just got really silly, but the casting of Candy against type and Aykroyd investing in a pretty annoying character do sustain interest, if not big belly laughs.