"And now for something completely different."
Obscure Movie Review explores films that are more-or-less mainstream (or at least supposed to be), with actors and directors you've heard of, but flew under the radar. And determine if they're a Hidden Gem, Missed Opportunity, Guilty Pleasure, or Best Forgotten.
Here in Australia National Lampoon's Vacation and European were summer, non-ratings period staples, and Christmas Vacation is wheeled out every December 25 evening. However, the fourth movie - Vegas Vacation - doesn't receive the same amount of airtime. Is it an unclaimed jackpot or just the last roll of the dice for a tired series?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bright light city gonna set my soul on fire
The Griswolds are off again, after Clark (Chevy Chase) earns a big bonus from work. And various Vegas-related high jinks follow.
Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) is romantically pursued by Wayne Newton, while Rusty and Audrey (played by Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols, in this film, but more on that below) have to make-do with being aged under 21 in Sin City - just ignore the time that would've passed since the first movie, which would make them old enough.
Clark's gambling wipes out the family's funds, mainly through a running battle with a pesky blackjack dealer - played by Wallace Shawn of The Princess Bride fame.
And with the help of Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) - who shows up because now he's living in the desert outside Vegas - they try to win it all back and keep the family together.
You probably noticed...
In every movie in the series - including the 2015 Vacation - the Griswold kids are played by different actors.
Those of note include Johnny Galecki (known these days as Leonard in the The Big Bang Theory) and Juliette Lewis, who were in the roles for Christmas Vacation.
The first Rusty was Anthony Michael Hall, who would go onto team with writer John Hughes multiple times for a number of his trademark 80s teen movies, including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science.
What's in a song?
The Vacation series has managed to get great mileage out of 'Holiday Road' by Lindsey Buckingham, which was written for the first film in 1983 and appears in each sequel - even getting another outing in 2015.
The extraordinarily catchy tune is inextricably linked to the films and is possibly Buckingham's best known song outside of Fleetwood Mac.
Curiously though, when it was originally released as a single it did little in the charts, just cracking the Billboard Hot 100 at number 82 and didn't get jersey in Australia. Contrast that with 'Trouble', two years earlier, which peaked at number nine on Billboard and topped the Aussie charts.
Nonetheless, it's a song capable of putting a smile on your face, whether that's because of its upbeat nature or that it conjures up images of the Griswolds off on a wacky adventure - or both.
Why is it obscure?
By collecting $36.4 million at the box office, Vegas Vacation actually made a $11M profit on its budget. But even though none of the movies in the series were mega hits financially, this was the worst performing even without correcting for inflation.
However, their status in pop culture isn't about how much money they made - it's about how fondly they're remembered, quoted, and paid homage to. And the simple fact of the matter is that history has brushed over Vegas Vacation.
Part of the problem seems to be that it's the only Vacation movie to receive a PG-rating, the others were 'R' (that's an American 'R', closer to an 'M' in Australia). The result is a tepid comedy, where the characters seem to be wanting to make dirtier jokes but just end up skirting around them.
It's a restriction that would've blunted the earlier films as well, had it have been a requirement. Think about how Clark's more memorable tirades - the family wanting to go home in Vacation, and not getting his bonus in Christmas Vacation - would've turned out without the use of explicit language.
Furthermore, it was released in 1997, which is weird timing considering it was 14 years after the first in the series and eight years after the previous installment.
More successful and better received comedies that came out that same year include; Men in Black; Liar Liar; The Full Monty; and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Fresh, original ideas, that weren't elongating a franchise whose last entry entry was nearly a decade prior.
OBSCURE MOVIE REVIEWS RATINGS:
- Hidden Gem - the highest rating, a genuinely good movie that shouldn't be obscure;
- Missed Opportunity - a flawed movie that had potential but fell short for whatever reason;
- Guilty Pleasure - not a good movie, but enjoyable, think 'so bad it's good';
- Best Forgotten - obscure for a reason, don't bother with it.
The verdict
BEST FORGOTTEN
The Griswolds were better off staying at home on this occasion.
Would it have been a better movie if was made in 1992 and given the freedom of a more grownup rating? Maybe, but the biggest drawback of Vegas Vacation is how lacklustre it feels.
Securing the services of Chase, D'Angelo and Quaid - not getting actors to reprise main roles, being one of the biggest hindrances to sequels - doesn't appear to be an advantage here, as none of their hearts seem to be in this one.
Beyond that the set-ups can be seen a mile away and when the jokes finally arrive they fall flat.
Also, Clark is not really a relatable character by this point. In the previous films he was tipped over the edge, but it was always in the pursuit of trying to give his family the perfect holiday.
Whereas here that same determination is turned towards problem gambling, which is hard to find endearing.
When Christie Brinkley returns to make a cameo appearance - once again as the beautiful woman driving the Ferrari alongside the family car - and 'Holiday Road' starts playing, it's as if Vegas Vacation admits to the audience that the first movie is much better.
And at that point you realise that's what you'd rather be watching.