Having not seen this movie since I was about 8 I looked forward to a forgotten Candy/Aykroyd classic and a sharp script by John Hughes. As an adult though I was bitterly disappointed at how feeble and unimaginative this lame comedy is. It barely just manages to be a complete film and comes across as a haphazard collection of possible scenes from an abandoned Griswald Vacaction movie squished together in no real order.
John Candy is an earnest, bigger than life dad who takes his wife and two sons into the wilderness for a fun time in a log cabin. When they get there they are promptly interrupted by pompous brother-in-law Dan Aykroyd (in a reverse Cousin Eddie role) who imposes himself into every situation with his arrogant demeanor. There's no conflict. It's a set-up that barely develops and barely resolves.
Meanwhile a bunch of side gags occur and some extremely poor slapstick scenes make up the majority of the running time. A teen romance plot is shoehorned in there but has no real effect on anything (but I don't mind as it features jail-bait Lucy Deakins who is super cute). Absolutely none of this appears to be in any pre-planned order. Characters warp across the place, switch outfits, warp back, and switch to previous outfits. No scene relates to another and nothing properly interconnects.
Some shots appear to be sped up and a couple of smaller scenes are obviously shot in a soundstage (complete with interior echo and noticeable folds in the painted backdrop) instead of actually on location. It makes me think that they realized the movie was under- running when thrown together and re-shot some extra crap to make it longer. An eyeball-rolling "karaoke credits" (were these EVER popular with audiences?) fattens the length to an acceptable 85 minutes before the credits run over black.
Forget about this one. It's a misfire from all the talent involved. Your nostalgia for this flick will not hold up.
John Candy is an earnest, bigger than life dad who takes his wife and two sons into the wilderness for a fun time in a log cabin. When they get there they are promptly interrupted by pompous brother-in-law Dan Aykroyd (in a reverse Cousin Eddie role) who imposes himself into every situation with his arrogant demeanor. There's no conflict. It's a set-up that barely develops and barely resolves.
Meanwhile a bunch of side gags occur and some extremely poor slapstick scenes make up the majority of the running time. A teen romance plot is shoehorned in there but has no real effect on anything (but I don't mind as it features jail-bait Lucy Deakins who is super cute). Absolutely none of this appears to be in any pre-planned order. Characters warp across the place, switch outfits, warp back, and switch to previous outfits. No scene relates to another and nothing properly interconnects.
Some shots appear to be sped up and a couple of smaller scenes are obviously shot in a soundstage (complete with interior echo and noticeable folds in the painted backdrop) instead of actually on location. It makes me think that they realized the movie was under- running when thrown together and re-shot some extra crap to make it longer. An eyeball-rolling "karaoke credits" (were these EVER popular with audiences?) fattens the length to an acceptable 85 minutes before the credits run over black.
Forget about this one. It's a misfire from all the talent involved. Your nostalgia for this flick will not hold up.