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National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's Vacation movie poster
Directed by	Harold Ramis
Produced by	Matty Simmons Robert Grand
Written by	John Hughes
Starring	Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo Anthony Michael Hall Dana Barron Randy Quaid Imogene Coca
Music by	Ralph Burns (score) Lindsey Buckingham (songs)
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Editing by	Pembroke J. Herring
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	July 29, 1983
Running time	99 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	est. USD15 M
Followed by	National Lampoon's European Vacation
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

National Lampoon's Vacation is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, and Anthony Michael Hall. The film features numerous others, such as comedic powerhouses John Candy and Imogene Coca, supermodel Christie Brinkley and future Ally McBeal regular Jane Krakowski, in smaller roles. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Vacation1983. ... Harold Ramis (born November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor, director, and writer. ... A former newspaper reporter for the New York World-Telegram and Sun,Brooklyn, NY native Matty Simmons gained fame as the chief executive officer of National Lampoon magazine in the 1970s. ... For other people with this name, see John Hughes. ... For other uses, see Chevy Chase (disambiguation). ... Beverly DAngelo (born November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American singer and actress, perhaps best known for her role as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoons Vacation movies series. ... Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, producer and director who achieved stardom in several successful teen-oriented films of the 1980s. ... Dana Barron (born April 22, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actress who has starred in film and on television. ... Randall Rudy Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. ... Imogene Coca (November 18, 1908 - June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist and singer with the musical group Fleetwood Mac. ... Victor J. Kemper (born April 14, 1927 in Newark, New Jersey, USA) is an American cinematographer who has worked on over fifty films. ... “WB” redirects here. ... is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... National Lampoons European Vacation (1985, Warner Bros. ... // February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Lets Spend the Night Together opens in New York North Americas Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Tootsie Trading Places, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy Superman III Flashdance Staying Alive Octopussy Mr. ... Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ... Harold Ramis (born November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor, director, and writer. ... For other uses, see Chevy Chase (disambiguation). ... Beverly DAngelo (born November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American singer and actress, perhaps best known for her role as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoons Vacation movies series. ... Randall Rudy Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. ... Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, producer and director who achieved stardom in several successful teen-oriented films of the 1980s. ... John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. ... Imogene Coca (November 18, 1908 - June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress. ... For the RuPaul song, see Supermodel (You Better Work). ... Christie Brinkley (born February 2, 1954) is an American supermodel. ... For the character, see Ally McBeal (character). ... Jane Krakowski (née Krajkowski, born October 11, 1968 in Parsippany, New Jersey) is a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ...

The screenplay was written by John Hughes, based on his short-story in National Lampoon magazine, "Vacation '58" (the screenplay changes the year to 1983). The original story is (reportedly) a fictionalized account of his own family's ill-fated trip to Disneyland (changed to "Wally World" for the film) when Hughes was a boy. The success of the movie helped launch his screenwriting career. For other people with this name, see John Hughes. ... January 1973 cover of National Lampoon National Lampoon was an American humor magazine that began in 1970 as an offshoot of the Harvard Lampoon. ... Disneyland is a theme park that is located at 1313 South Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim, California, USA. It opened on July 17, 1955. ...

The film was a significant box office hit, earning over $61 million in the United States with an estimated budget of $15 million. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted National Lampoon's Vacation the 46th greatest comedy film of all time. It is widely considered to be the best film in National Lampoon's series of "Vacation" films, and continues to be a popular film and a staple on cable television channels. It also has a fresh rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. ^[1] A "Wally World Water Park" opened in Canada several years after the release of the movie. The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdoms second best-selling film magazine, after the longer-established Empire from Emap. ...

Plot

Food additives researcher Clark Griswold (Chase) wants to spend more time with wife Ellen (D'Angelo), as well as children Russ and Audrey (Hall and Dana Barron). So, he decides to lead the family on a cross-country expedition from the suburbs of Chicago all the way to wonderful "Wally World" — billed as "America's Favorite Family Fun Park" — in Los Angeles. However, the Griswolds' vacation begins to go comically awry before it even starts. Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr. ... Dana Barron (born April 22, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actress who has starred in film and on television. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Arriving to pick up a new car, Clark finds the dealership has "made an error", and had the wrong car delivered. As Clark tries to complain to the salesman, his old car is flattened in a car crusher. Insistent on leaving for California the next morning, Clark reluctantly agrees to take the car on hand: a Wagon Queen Family Truckster - a hideous metallic pea-green station wagon (modeled after a Ford LTD), clad in faux wood paneling and bearing eight headlights. This article is about the U.S. state. ... The Wagonqueen Family Truckster was a station wagon created specifically for the comedy National Lampoons Vacation. ... Estate car body style (Saab 95) A station wagon (United States usage), wagon (Australian usage, though station wagon is widely used) or estate car (United Kingdom usage) is a car body style similar to a sedan car but with an extended rear cargo area. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

Typically, Clark convinces himself this car is just what the family needed, anyway. When he brings the car home, the engine continues to run after being switched off, and the air bag deploys quite inappropriately. But Clark brushes off Ellen's last-ditch attempt to persuade him to fly to California instead, and the next morning they depart.

Lost in St. Louis, the Griswolds ask for directions in a very suspect neighborhood, only to have their car tagged. They stay overnight in St. Louis, where Ellen tries to enjoy a hot (and revealing) shower before being scared by, Clark (in a homage to the infamous shower scene from 'Psycho'). Nickname: Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area  - City  66. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ...

Meanwhile, Clark has periodic encounters with a voluptuous young woman (Brinkley) as she drives her flashy red Ferrari; he casually flirts with her while Ellen dozes in the passenger seat, and nearly wrecks the car This article is about the automobile manufacturer. ...

An overnight stop in Coolidge, Kansas, to visit Ellen's cousins Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and Eddie (Quaid) gets much more complicated for everyone: Eddie hits Clark up for money and then foists crotchety Aunt Edna (Coca) and her vicious dog "Dinky" on the Griswold family, so they can drive her to her son Normy's home in Phoenix, Arizona, which is "on the way". Coolidge is a city located in Hamilton County, Kansas. ... Miriam Flynn (born June 18, 1952) is an American voice artist and character actress. ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Country State County Maricopa Incorporated February 25, 1881 Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Phil Gordon (D) Area  - City  515. ...

Cousin Eddie's son Dale (John P. Navin Jr.) introduces Rusty to pornography and masturbation, while his sister Vicki (Jane Krakowski) shows Audrey a shoebox full of pot. At a picnic area, they discover that Dinky has urinated on the picnic basket. Later, leaving the smelly "Kamp Komfort", in South Fork, Colorado, they remember far too late that they've also left poor Dinky tied to the back of the car. John P. Navin Jr. ... Porn redirects here. ... Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... For the Wikipedia term see Wikipedia:Userboxes An empty corrugated box An elaborate wooden box Boxes are highly variable receptacles. ... Cannabis, also known as marijuana[1] or ganja (Hindi: गांजा),[2] is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa. ... South Fork is a town located in Rio Grande County, Colorado. ...

Lost in the desert, Clark inadvertently drives off the end of a closed road, wrecking the car, breaking Rusty's nose, and causing Audrey's first period. Stranded, Clark goes looking for help, only to become hopelessly lost, but eventually the Griswolds reunite at a gas station just a few miles away. There, Clark spends the last of his money repairing the car, thanks to the shoddy mechanics who repaired his car. Not to be confused with Mensuration. ...

The Griswolds are only a few hours from Phoenix when they discover Aunt Edna has died in her sleep. Increasingly frustrated and on-edge, Clark decides to cover the old woman with a tarp and tie her to the roof of the car, as his wife protests this shabby treatment in the driving rain. In Phoenix, the Griswolds find Normie is out of town, so Aunt Edna's body is left sitting unceremoniously in a lawn chair in his backyard. with a note pinned to her sleeve explaining what has happened.

Disillusioned by the disastrous turn of events, Ellen and the kids beg to go back to Chicago before anything else can go wrong. Clark, however, is now grimly determined to see his vacation through, and insists they press on. The next day, the Griswolds finally arrive at Wally World and find the parking lots strangely silent and empty.

At first congratulating themselves for arriving early, they soon encounter a giant statue of Marty Moose, whose goofy cartoon voice tells them, "Sorry folks! We're closed for two weeks to clean and repair America's favorite family fun park!" Clark angrily punches the statue in the nose, caving it in and causing a slurred repeat of the message.

Incredulous and now completely bonkers because nothing on this vacation has gone right, Clark buys a realistic-looking BB gun and returns to the park, where he holds security guard Russ Lasky (John Candy) at gunpoint, and demands to be allowed into the park. The Griswolds ride several rides with Lasky in tow, but eventually the SWAT team arrives. Steel BBs BB guns are a type of air gun designed to fire usually spherical projectiles, called BBs after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. ... John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. ... This article is about Special Weapons And Tactics. ...

Clark and his family are about to be arrested when owner Roy Walley (Eddie Bracken) himself intervenes and opts not to press charges after hearing Clark's impassioned epitome of the American Vacation and about the two weeks of living hell that the family spent trying to drive to Walley World from Chicago. At last, the Griswolds can enjoy their vacation. Eddie Bracken (born February 7, 1915; died November 14, 2002) was an American comic actor. ...

Cast

For other uses, see Chevy Chase (disambiguation). ... Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr. ... Beverly DAngelo (born November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American singer and actress, perhaps best known for her role as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoons Vacation movies series. ... Imogene Coca (November 18, 1908 - June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress. ... Randall Rudy Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. ... Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, producer and director who achieved stardom in several successful teen-oriented films of the 1980s. ... Dana Barron (born April 22, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actress who has starred in film and on television. ... Eddie Bracken (born February 7, 1915; died November 14, 2002) was an American comic actor. ... Brian Doyle-Murray (born October 31, 1945) is an American comedian, screenwriter and character actor. ... Miriam Flynn (born June 18, 1952) is an American voice artist and character actress. ... James Keach born (December 7, 1947 in Savannah, Georgia) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Eugene Levy (born 17 December 1946) is a Canadian Emmy and Grammy Award-winning actor, television director, producer and writer. ... John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian comedian and actor. ... Christie Brinkley (born February 2, 1954) is an American supermodel. ... Jane Krakowski (née Krajkowski, born October 11, 1968 in Parsippany, New Jersey) is a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer. ...

Disney references

Walley World itself is a good-natured parody of Walt Disney's Disneyland, based on the Los Angeles location. The name of the mascot, Marty Moose, is reminiscent of Disney's Mickey Mouse (although the statue actually looks and sounds more like Jay Ward's creation, Bullwinkle), and the "Marty Moose theme song" that the family sings in the car is a take-off on the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. Finally, Roy Walley himself is a pastiche of both Walt and Roy Disney, right down to the thin mustache. For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Mickey Mouse is an Academy Award-winning comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. ... J Troplong Jay Ward (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989) was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. ... The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (also known as Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show) was a television animated series created and produced in the USA by Jay Ward. ... The Mickey Mouse Club was a long-running American variety television series that began in the 1950s, produced and televised by Walt Disney Productions and featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. ... Roy Disney can refer to two different people: Roy Oliver Disney was Walt Disneys brother and the financier of his efforts. ...

Present-Day Walley World

The film's location for Walley World was set at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, north of Los Angeles. Two of the film's major roller coasters, known as Revolution (renamed to the "Whipper Snapper" in the film) and Colossus still operate at the Six Flags park today, over a quarter-century after being built. Six Flags Magic Mountain is an amusement park located just west of the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles. ... A typical stretch of Valencia Boulevard. ... Revolution is a steel roller coaster made by Schwarzkopf of Germany. ... Colossus is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. ...

Sequels

National Lampoon's Vacation spawned a number of sequels:

• National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003)

With the exception of the last film, each sequel saw Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprise their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold, enduring their unique and unenviable brand of vacation misadventure in various locales. However, the children Rusty and Audrey are played by a different set of actors in each film (except for Audrey in the last sequel). This fact is joked about early in Vegas Vacation: when we first see the kids again, Clark tells them that he "hardly recognizes" them anymore. The various actors were Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron in Vacation, Jason Lively and Dana Hill in European Vacation, Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis in Christmas Vacation, and Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols in Vegas Vacation. Dana Barron again plays Audrey in Christmas Vacation 2, but Rusty, like his parents, could not make it for "Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure", an NBC TV movie. However, Miriam Flynn and Randy Quaid reprise their roles as cousins Catherine and Eddie, as they did in each film aside from European Vacation. National Lampoons European Vacation (1985, Warner Bros. ... // Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson Rambo: First Blood Part II, starring Sylvester Stallone Rocky IV, starring Sylvester Stallone The Color Purple, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Adolph Caesar Out of Africa, starring Meryl Streep and... National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989, Warner Bros. ... // Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. ... Vegas Vacation (1997, Warner Bros. ... The year 1997 in film involved some significant events. ... The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. ... Jason Lively (born 12 March 1968) is an American actor. ... Dana Hill Goetz (May 6, 1964 - July 15, 1996) was an American actress and voice actor who was best known for her raspy voice and child-like appearance. ... Johnny Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. ... Juliette L. Lewis (born June 21, 1973)[1] is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and musician. ... Ed ONeill (left) as Det. ... Marisol Nichols (born November 2, 1973 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress. ... This article is about the television network. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ...

Each sequel also manages to reference "Wally World" in some way.

TV pilot

A television pilot based on the Vacation films titled American Adventure starring Gary Cole and Helen Slater was produced in 2000, but this pilot was not picked up. A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. ... Gary Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor, known for numerous roles, including the television series Fatal Vision, The West Wing, Midnight Caller, American Gothic, Wanted and Crusade, and the films Office Space, In the Line of Fire, Kiss the Sky, Dodgeball, The Brady Bunch Movie, A Very... Helen Rachel Slater (born December 15, 1963) is an American film actress and singer-songwriter. ...

Songs

The soundtrack to the film has been released on LP, but has yet to be officially released on CD. The song "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham was featured in this movie and served as the main theme song. It was also used in two of the sequels: 1985's National Lampoon's European Vacation and 1997's Vegas Vacation. Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist and singer with the musical group Fleetwood Mac. ...

Buckingham also composed "Dancin' Across The USA", another song on the Vacation soundtrack.

The movie also features the "Wally World National Anthem", which is sung by the Griswold family while leaving Chicago (music by Bruce Belland and Roy Rogosin, lyrics by John Hughes, Bruce Belland and Roy Rogosin). The lyrics are:

Who's the moosiest moose we know?
Marty Moose!
Who's the star of our favorite show?
Marty Moose!
M is for Merry, we're merry you see;
O is for Oh gosh, Oh golly, Oh gee;
S is for Super Swell family glee;
E is for Everything you want to be.
M - A - R - T - Y;
M - O - O - S - E.
What's that spell?
Marty Moose!
Marty Moose!
Marty Moose!
(Hyuk), that's me!

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

National Lampoon's Vacation

• Vacation (1983) at the Internet Movie Database
• National Lampoon's Vacation at the 80s Movie Gateway
• "Vacation '58" by John Hughes (online text)
• "Rusty and Audrey Griswold: Where Are They Now?"(online link)