Customer Reviews

Vegas Vacation (Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo put together another hilarious Griswold family vacation. While Ellen (D'Angelo) is busy falling for Wayne Newton, Clark (Chase) continues to screw things up by gambling away all of their vacation money. Eddie (Randy Quaid) somehow manages to meet up with the Griswold's again, continuing to act like a neanderthal. Rusty becomes a high roller and Audrey gets a hangover.

If you liked the previous Vacation movies, I recommend Vegas Vacation. Even though it was not as good as Christmas Vacation, it is worth adding to your collection.

This is the funniest movie in the Vacation series since the original. The Griswolds decide that their children are grown up enough for them to visit Sin City. Since they happen to be staying at the Mirage, they naturally go to see Siegfried and Roy's magic act. Of course, Clark (Chevy Chase) gets picked out of the audience to participate with an illusion on stage. They make him disappear until the end of the show, when he appears on stage with the white tigers. Later, they go to see Mr. Vegas - Wayne Newton - in concert. Of course, Clark's wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) gets picked out of the audience to sing a duet with Wayne. Clark's son Rusty buys a fake I.D. from a Frank Sinatra soundalike, and becomes an underage high roller. Clark's daughter Audrey learns to become a go-go dancer, and along the way meets a couple of the guys from Beatlemania, who inform her that they've been together longer than the real Beatles! It's hard to believe that they didn't run into any Elvis impersonators in Vegas. Fortunately, the Griswolds do run into cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his cuckoo clan who have moved to Nevada. Even Christie Brinkley is back for a brief cameo. If you're looking for some laughs, it's a safe bet you'll find them watching "Vegas Vacation!"

It is the same story, the Griswolds are off to wreak havoc on another city. This time Clark decides to take the whole family to Las Vegas so he and Ellen can renew their wedding vows for their anniversary. They manage to leave their unique Griswold touch on most Vegas institutions, like a Seigfried and Roy show, a Wayne Newton show and the Hoover Dam. Most of the comedic highlights in this movie come either when the ultimate white-trash, cousin Eddie is onscreen or when Clark is at the blackjack table.

My favorite part of this movie is Ethan Embry as the most dimwitted Russ to date. He buys a fake ID, becomes a high roller and wins 4 cars gambling. I would recommend renting this movie, but not buying it, the 'bonus' features are light.

Usually when a movie series becomes a "franchise" (i.e. produces multiple sequels), it loses much of the momentum that launched the "franchise" to begin with. Such is not the case with "Vegas Vacation" - the fourth installment of the "Vacation" franchise (the others being "Vacation", "European Vacation", and "Christmas Vacation"). 1997's "Vegas Vacation" was the first "Vacation" movie in 8 years (the previous one being 1989's "Christmas Vacation") and it makes it well worth the wait. The nice thing about this movie is that it basically continues a very successful formula that had been adopted for the previous three movies - and makes it work well.

There is one big change for "Vegas Vacation" - John Hughes is not back as the head writer. Hughes was the head writer for the previous three "Vacation" movies. Hughes was also one of the most successful writers and producers of the 1980s - involved with such hits as "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink", "Ferris Beuller's Day Off", "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", "Weird Science", and the "Home Alone" movies. I was skeptical at first a "Vacation" movie could work without Hughes. However, Elisa Bell and Bob Ducsay don't drop the ball at all. They are able to keep to the integrity of the "Vacation" franchise. They are able to do this by continuing to work with the nucleus of actors that made this movie what it is - Chevy Chase (Clark Griswald), Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold), and Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie). Despite using the fourth different set of actor/actresses to play the Griswold Children, nothing seems to miss a beat as we immediately come to accept Rusty and Audrey Griswold early in the movie.

The premise for the film is that Clark gets a big bonus and extra-time off from work for patent on a food preservative. As a result, he decides to once again embark on a family vacation - this time to Las Vegas. Clark touts the marketing line that was very popular during the mid 1990s - "Las Vegas as the Family Vacation Destination". After some initial resistance, the family agrees to go to Vegas with him. The trip to Vegas is the main plot, but four subplots evolve while the family is in Vegas. Each plot focuses on one of the four Griswolds. For Clark, he gets hooked on Gambling - and will soon rapidly rack up a very amount of Gambling losses. For Ellen, she becomes the object of Wayne Newton's (played by himself) attention and affection. For Rusty, after he gets a fake id - he goes on an incredibly lucky gambling streak and soon is hanging out with the high rollers. As for Audrey, she hooks up with Cousin Eddie's wild daughter Vickie, starts to take on some of Vegas' party life and soon ends up as a Club Dancer. Of the four subplots, the Audrey subplot is probably the weakest, but it is not all bad. On the flipside, perhaps the best plot is the one involving Rusty. Rusty's alter ego "Nick Pappagiorgio" - the High Roller provides some of the best moments in the movie.

Cousins Eddie (Quaid) and Catherine (played by Miriam Flynn) are back as well. The writers find a very good way to weave them back into the story as this time Eddie, Catherine, and their large family are living outside Las Vegas in the middle of the desert. I like how the character of Cousin Eddie has evolved in the "Vacation" movies. In the first movie, Eddie had a harder edge. In "Christmas Vacation" (the producers made a foolish mistake of not finding a way to include Eddie and Catherine in "European Vacation"), the character of Eddie began to get more loveable. This trend continues in "Vegas Vacation". I do think that the character of Eddie comes full-circle in this movie. When Clark blows all of his money, it is Eddie that not only provides emotional support to Clark - but even finds a way to help him out financially as well. This is a great turnaround because in the previous films, it was Clark that was usually helping Eddie out.

Another notable performance comes from a little known actor named Wallace Shawn. Wallace plays "Marty" who is a dealer in the Casino. Clark begins to engage in a war of wills with Marty throughout the movie - and it's Marty who always seems to get the best of him. It is also worth noting that Christie Brinkley, who was in the original "Vacation" movie is back for a brief cameo - reprising her role from the original movie.

For the most part, the movie was filmed within Las Vegas. The majority of the scenes take place in The Mirage Hotel (including a performance by Sigfried and Roy in which Clark manages to find his way into the act). There are some other scenes that take place at the MGM, Riviera, Golden Nugget, and O'Shea's Casino. There are plenty of scenes of the strip. One inaccuacy is when the Griswolds go to visit Eddie and Catherine's place just North of Las Vegas, they actually drive southbound on the strip - just past the Luxor.

There are two drawbacks to the movie. I do think there is less physical comedy in this movie than in previous "Vacation" films - particularly of Clark. Clark's best physical comedy scenes come before they leave for the Vegas trip. The other drawback is I do think the movie has a weak ending (despite a small appearance by Sid Caesar). In general while I have always enjoyed the "Vacation" movies, the endings have been disappointing in each of them.

There is some excellent music in this movie and it is used very well with the scenes - including a combination of some contemporary tunes with some "Vegas" style tunes. Overall, this is still probably one of the better "Vacation" movies - definitely one worth getting and watching over and over.

While National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation remains the funniest of the entire series, Vegas Vacation has a lot of laughs that is sure to please its audiences. This time, Clark, Ellen, Rusty and Audrey are off to Las Vegas, where Clark plans on renewing his wedding vows to Ellen. However, the inevitable temptation to gamble becomes too much for Clark, and he begins to squander all of his money, delving into his savings. Meanwhile, his wife is being courted by Wayne Newton, his son is posing as a married man from Uma, and his daughter becomes a club dancer. And what would a vacation movie be without good ol' cousin Eddie, played by the hilarious Randy Quaid? This time, he's living in a mobile home on a former H-bomb test site, and he offers his help to Clark after he loses all of his money. While it is clear that some of the laughs are missed from th previous films, this one does not fail to please, giving more laughs than you would think and keeping the entertainment alive.

I thought Vegas Vacation was hilarious! It was alot better than the others. My friend and I saw it in the theaters and when we walked out right after the show we were saying we have got to go buy this movie when it hits on video it's awesome! Chevy Chase is funny. Yes, the acting is horrible but the movie is good. I give it 10 stars.

We have all the Chevy Chase Vacation movies, they will always be a classic for our family. We take Christmas Vacation to our summer cabin and watch it whenever the grandchildren are there. We have now added this to our collection for the lake and I'm sure this will be a tradition also. Wish he'd make some more.

Vegas Vacation is probably one of my favorite "Vacation's" there is. This movie takes you on a fun adventure to fabulous Las Vegas for a vacation for the Griswald's. I have never gotten bored with this movie and I can watch it over and over and over.

At first, Audrey and Russ are reluctant to going because "the people are soo fony", but soon they are having the time of their lives. Fuss gets a fake ID and wins about 3 cars. Audrey hangs out with her cousin Vicki (who is a dancer) and Audrey basically changes her whole wardrobe and style.

Ellen falls in love and gets seduced by Wayne Newton. And "Sparky" (Chevy Chase) well... let's just say he's having some trouble at the tables. The entire family have a visit with Ellen's cousins and a family trip to the Hoover Dam.

This is one of Chevy's best! You'll love it!

Special DVD feature's include:
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
Languages: Engish and Francais
Subtitles: English, Francais, and Espanol

Maybe I have a bias because I live and work in Las Vegas (vacationed here 5 times in 6 years before making the final move), but this Vacation movie does grow on you. A lot of the cheap shots they take at Vegas itself---i.e., the scortching weather, the exotic dancer business catering to young bimbos, the aggrandizing and self-indulgence of one Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton---are funny sometimes because there is a little bit of truth to the zingers.

Outside of the Vegas jokes, the Griswold clan is funny on its own. Led by the slapsticking Clarke Griswold (Chevy Chase), the family runs into spats of outrageous luck, and outrageous nonsense. They really should be the poster-child family for Las Vegas, because those dual qualities mirror the qualities of this unique American city.

Beverly D'Angelo, playing Ellen Griswold, only seems to become more attractive. There's a clever cameo by the supermodel, (Christie Brinkley) who had her debut in the first Vacation movie, and it lets the audience know just how much time has passed since the film series began.

Chevy Chase is predictable in his role as the well-meaning, and often clumsy father who only wants to give his family the perfect vacation experience. For Chase fans, this is the kind of movie you have come to expect from him (outside of those two Fletch efforts), and you will not be disappointed.

I would buy this DVD and add it to my Vacation collection. It may not be as good as the first, but it is certainly better than the 2nd, and probably just a little less laugh-out-loud funny than the third, so-called Christmas Vacation.

Enjoy!

Not only does this movie show quite a bit about our town, Las Vegas, but it's hilarious. We especially liked Randy Quaid and he just doesn't stop--every time he comes on the scene, it's a laughfest indeed. The story line is obvious: the Griswold family travels to fabulous Las Vegas. And while Clark (Chevy Chase) loses all his money, teenage Griswold Junior, equipped with a fake ID, takes Las Vegas by storm, winning cash and cars everywhere. Ellen Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) becomes a "Wayniac"--the nickname for Wayne Newton fans. Even the Hoover Dam tour and the Siegfried & Roy show turn into a wild adventure full of laughs. One thing is certain: you're going to crack up, and it's sure going to wet your appetite to visit fabulous Las Vegas in the near future.