European Vacation DVD
Warner Home Video
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 94 minutes
Director: Amy Heckerling
Year: (1985)
Britt Gillette's European Vacation DVD Review
Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation, sequel to the original Vacation movie and precursor to the holiday classic Christmas Vacation. Like the other films, this edition contains different cast members to play the roles of Griswold children Audrey (Dana Hill) and Rusty (Jason Lively). The only Vacation movie that doesn't feature Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), European Vacation is nevertheless one hilarious movie. It's an old school comedy like they just don't make anymore…
When the Griswold family appears on the hit TV game show, Pig In A Poke, they inadvertently beat a superior family and win an all-expenses paid trip to Europe. As usual, Clark is giddy about the wonderful trip of family bonding which he dreams his family will enjoy. But Audrey is mortified at the prospect of leaving her boyfriend behind. Nevertheless, the Griswolds hop on a plane bound for Europe.
Right off the bat, Clark's dream vacation begins to experience shortcomings. The first hotel the family stays in is a half-star dump with a community bathroom, and Clark gets stuck on a circular roadway where he endlessly passes by Big Ben and Parliament. A couple of brilliant guest appearances are turned in by Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) who plays the role of a zealously friendly biker. In one of the funniest scenes in the film, Clark smashes into the biker, who apologizes to Clark while hobbling away from the wreck and who springs a bloody leak from his wrist that he passes off as a mere "flesh wound". When Clark hits another motorist, he and the family are given the man's bumper as a souvenir to take home to America.
As the Griswold clan makes their way across mainland Europe, especially in France and Germany, they encounter various pitfalls and cultural misunderstandings. Rusty causes a dog to jump to its death from the heights of the Eiffel Tower, and Clark instigates a riot in a small Bavarian township. One of the more memorable one-liners from the film is when Audrey tells Clark that in Germany "sex" means "six," so while searching for his relatives who live in apartment six, he greets some surprised residents with the tagline, "Hello, my family and I are looking for sex!"
When the stress becomes unbearable, the vacation inevitably drives each of the family members in a different direction, but everyone is quickly brought back together when Ellen is kidnapped by a pair of petty criminals who want to get their hands on the family vacation fund. Clark must come to the rescue and save, not only his wife, but the family's entire vacation experience as well…
A great comedy that contributes to the overall quality of the National Lampoon's Vacation films, European Vacation is a fun, family-oriented film. Those who enjoyed the exploits of Clark Griswold in the more recent Christmas Vacation or Vegas Vacation films will find it well worth their while to go back see this movie which many people have forgotten about. This is an utterly hilarious film in its own right, and clearly earns its designation as a must-see film…
Britt Gillette
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Read more European Vacation DVD Reviews (MRQE)
Read more European
Vacation DVD Reviews (MRI)
Posted on 26 January 2005