"I think Dad's lost all sense of reality."
After the box office hit that was National Lampoon's Vacation, it was only natural that we would get a sequel. And where better to send the Griswolds than overseas, which brings us to National Lampoon's European Vacation. This one has a reputation for not being as good as the original and while I admit it's not as iconic as the original film, it still has enough hearty laughs in it to be a worthwhile time.
This time around, The Griswolds win an all expenses paid trip to Europe on a game show by accidently giving the correct answer. Soon enough, Clark and Ellen (played again by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo) are off to Europe with their two kids, Rusty and Audrey (played this time around by Jason Lively and Dana Hill) in tow. Starting in London, the family has such cultural adjustments to make such as dealing with driving on the left side of the road and roundabouts. This leads to, among other things, an amusing run in with Eric Idle, after Clark hits him while he's riding bike. He's clearly very hurt, but shrugs it off as if it's nothing, slyly mocking the overly polite British stereotype (he even references the infamous, "It's just a flesh wound!" line from his Monty Python days). The kids on the other hand are having trouble dealing with being in a country that only has three channels (Rusty panics when he finds out there's no MTV) and Audrey bemoans being away from her boyfriend, Jack (played by William Zabka).
This time around, The Griswolds win an all expenses paid trip to Europe on a game show by accidently giving the correct answer. Soon enough, Clark and Ellen (played again by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo) are off to Europe with their two kids, Rusty and Audrey (played this time around by Jason Lively and Dana Hill) in tow. Starting in London, the family has such cultural adjustments to make such as dealing with driving on the left side of the road and roundabouts. This leads to, among other things, an amusing run in with Eric Idle, after Clark hits him while he's riding bike. He's clearly very hurt, but shrugs it off as if it's nothing, slyly mocking the overly polite British stereotype (he even references the infamous, "It's just a flesh wound!" line from his Monty Python days). The kids on the other hand are having trouble dealing with being in a country that only has three channels (Rusty panics when he finds out there's no MTV) and Audrey bemoans being away from her boyfriend, Jack (played by William Zabka).
After a quick (and unfortunate) stop at Stonehenge, the family continues on to Paris, with such amusing moments as the kids being faced with having to make their way through the entire Louvre in 15 minutes before it closes, to which Audrey faints at the prospect ("Are you happy now, Dad? She's dead!"). From there, the family moves on to Germany (which ends with them being chased out of the country by villagers with pitchforks), and then on to Rome.
There are moments in this movie that really struck a cord with me as very familiar. One example is the scene where the Griswolds are walking by Notre Dame in Paris. Clark and Ellen are ahead of the kids, enjoying the sights while Rusty and Audrey are fighting over the Walkman. I laugh at this scene every time because I've had that exact fight with brother, with my parents not caring.
Unfortunately, there are also elements in this movie that never quite worked for me, such as Clark taking Ellen to a topless burlesque show in Paris. Yes, he flirted with Christie Brinkley in the first film and everything, but him cheering them on and asking for encores always rubbed me the wrong way somehow and was never particularly funny to me. There's a similar scene in the Germany section of the film where Rusty hooks up with a girl and as soon as their alone, she immediately takes her top off. It's just another example of a bizarre sense of sexism in parts of this movie, made all the more odd since it was directed by a woman, Amy Heckerling. To be fair, this installment in the series also has my favorite Audrey, played by the late Dana Hill. While her character does spend a fair amount of time pining for Jack, she also does a bit of growing over the course of the film especially when she finds out Jack has been cheating on her. It's a more well rounded performance than the other actresses gave in the other films, and helps balance out some of the more sexist moments listed above.
While National Lampoon's European Vacation doesn't rank with the first one or even the third one, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, it does make for a reasonably amusing time, with enough good laughs to make it a worthwhile sequel. I don't think it deserves it's reputation as a bad movie and while it has some elements that have not aged well, that could be owed to the time it was made (1985).
Unfortunately, there are also elements in this movie that never quite worked for me, such as Clark taking Ellen to a topless burlesque show in Paris. Yes, he flirted with Christie Brinkley in the first film and everything, but him cheering them on and asking for encores always rubbed me the wrong way somehow and was never particularly funny to me. There's a similar scene in the Germany section of the film where Rusty hooks up with a girl and as soon as their alone, she immediately takes her top off. It's just another example of a bizarre sense of sexism in parts of this movie, made all the more odd since it was directed by a woman, Amy Heckerling. To be fair, this installment in the series also has my favorite Audrey, played by the late Dana Hill. While her character does spend a fair amount of time pining for Jack, she also does a bit of growing over the course of the film especially when she finds out Jack has been cheating on her. It's a more well rounded performance than the other actresses gave in the other films, and helps balance out some of the more sexist moments listed above.
While National Lampoon's European Vacation doesn't rank with the first one or even the third one, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, it does make for a reasonably amusing time, with enough good laughs to make it a worthwhile sequel. I don't think it deserves it's reputation as a bad movie and while it has some elements that have not aged well, that could be owed to the time it was made (1985).
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