National Lampoon's European Vacation - A Movie Review

Tweet

"National Lampoon's European Vacation" is a comedy that was released in 1985. It was written by the great John Hughes and Robert Klane, based on a story by John Hughes, and directed by Amy Heckerling. This is the only vacation movie in which Griswold is spelled with an "a" instead of an "o" (Griswald). CAST Chevy Chase - Clark Griswald Beverly D'Angelo - Ellen Griswald Dana Hill - Audrey Griswald Jason Lively - Russell "Rusty" Griswald John Astin - Kent Winkdale Mel Smith - London Hotel Manager Robbie Coltrane - Man in Bathroom Maureen Lipman - Lady in Bed William Zabka - Jack Willy Millowitsch - Fritz Spritz Paul McDowell - First English Motorist Ballard Berkeley - Second English Motorist Eric Idle - The Bike Rider Victor Lanoux - The Thief Massimo Sarchielli - The Other Thief Moon Unit Zappa - Rusty's California Girl Claudia Neidig - Claudia, Rusty's German Girl The Griswalds win a European vacation competing in the Pig in a Poke game show. On their trip to London they end up in an old hotel with a sloppy Cockney desk clerk. The rooms are tiny, the bathroom is shared and the beds are as hard as rocks. Clark tries to "get left" around the busy Lambeth Bridge roundabout for hours. He usually drives on the wrong side of the road and, on one occasion hits a bicyclist. On another occasion he backs into Stonehenge and topples the stones. Clark never notices and drives away. I don't want to give away too much of the movie...let's just say that Clark has one disaster after another...as usual. So many good movies came out of the 1980s and some of them, such as this one, were written by the great John Hughes. However, this is not the best "Vacation" movie in the series. There is the typical physical humor and Griswald bad luck; but it seems forced. I also didn't care much for the Rusty and Audrey characters in this film compared to the first "Vacation" movie. Don't get me wrong, "European Vacation" will give you an enjoyable evening with popcorn (sans kids); but it's not one that you will reach for again and again. Warning: There is some nudity in this movie. This movie is rated PG-13.