Chevy Chase,
Beverly D'Angelo,
Anthony Michael Hall,
Imogene Coca,
Randy Quaid
... see more 
The first film in the Vacation comedy franchise stars Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, an ad exec who becomes consumed with taking his family cross-country to Wally World, a California amusement park. L... read more
Directed by: Harold Ramis
Release Date: July 29, 1983
Keywords:
family,
funny,
vacation,
road trip,
chevy chase,
john candy,
wally world,
Times New Roman,
Chevy Chase ,
John Candy ,
Wally World
DVD Release Date: August 27, 1997
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Stats: 3,600 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (3,600)
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April 3, 2012MAJOR blast from the past here and it still holds up really well today despite being really seriously dated. The appearance is almost historical with all those 80's clothes, cars and electronic gear (the sequence with 'Clarke' using the old computer, check those graphics! may hav... read more
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January 4, 2012Lampoon's Vacation is so not one of the greatest comedy movies all time. However, on a positive note, it's the movie that made modern road trip movies extremely popular. Chevy Chase and his family are very likable but I felt the whole "American values" thing nearer to the end of ... read more
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November 20, 2011fb1664868775This comedy masterpiece is one of my favorites. Chevy Chase delivers one of his best performances as the dad that can't get anything right, a character that I wills always remember because I saw him in my dad and now I see Clark Griswold in myself.
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October 23, 2011Not until 2006 (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) has a road comedy even come close to being as great as NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION. It's funny, raunchy, and it spawned a few decent films. (Though VEGAS VACATION was not good.)
Okay, I really do not like "hard-R" comedies at all... read more -
June 26, 2011Possibly, the greatest comedy film ever made in history. Clark Griswold wants to take his family to Wally World in California, but during the road trip, he is jacked by the ghetto, kills a dog, kills Aunt Edna, destroys his car and crashes it (more than once), and much more. Th... read more
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January 14, 2011Another classic comedy from the 80s, I love it, it's hilarious. The cast is great, the story is great, and it's just so funny. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes comedy.
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November 12, 2010fb100000040220993This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I still laugh my ass off whenever I watch it. A classic.
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Critic Reviews
May 7, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety
May 7, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Despite plenty of gross-out gags and dumb slapstick bits, the careful viewer can occasionally detect some acrid and original satire in this 1983 film. Full Review
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times
The result is a confident humor and throwaway style that helps sustain the laughs -- of which there are quite a few. Full Review
September 16, 2011
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
A perfect marriage of collaborators on both sides of the camera. Full Review
January 1, 2011
Afsheen Nomai, Common Sense Media
Funny family comedy, but dated and risque. Full Review
August 9, 2010
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Though lacking in narrative and comic sophistication, National Lampoon's Vacation has something arguably more important: built-in, instant audience identification. [Blu-ray] Full Review
August 8, 2010
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...a zany, lighthearted look at numbskull American tourism at its most chaotic. Full Review
August 19, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
This boasts a great cast from start to finish, but the funniest moments in this film for me invariably come from Randy Quaid, who plays Chase's dumb country cousin. Full Review
June 24, 2006
Time Out
he result is not so much a comedy about American values as a 2,500 mile skid on a banana skin. The visual gags come thick and fast, and are about as subtly signposted as the exit markers on a freeway. Full Review
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National Lampoon's Vacation
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