National Lampoon’s European Vacation

PLOT:

The film’s plot is another family misadventure, full of over-the-top slapstick. Chase and D’Angelo again portray the married couple Clark and Ellen Griswold, living in suburban Chicago with two children, Rusty and Audrey. The family competes in a game show called “Pig in a Poke” (based on Family Feud, but with the families wearing pig costumes) and wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe, flying Pan Am Airways. In a whirlwind tour of western Europe, chaos of all sorts ensues. Their fleabag London hotel desk clerk (Mel Smith) is a sloppy, tattooed Cockney wearing a tank top. Now with their English hire car, a bright yellow Austin Maxi, Clark drives his family endlessly around the busy Lambeth Bridge roundabout for hours, unable to maneuver his way out of traffic, mentioning the Big Ben clock and Parliament with each pass. His wrong-way driving habits cause him to repeatedly crash into cars and knock over and injure a frightened bicyclist (Eric Idle) who reappears in different scenes as if by coincidence, each time wearing more bandages than in the scene before. At Stonehenge, Clark backs their Maxi into a priceless, ancient stone monolith, knocking all the stones down like dominoes, which they do not even notice happened as they happily leave the scene (while the family are at Stonehenge, Clark shouts for Rusty, who is standing right behind him. Rusty then replies, ‘Yeah Dad?’. This conversation is a callback to a similar one which took place in National Lampoon’s Vacation after Clark crashed the car in the middle of the desert).

In Paris, Clark throws Rusty’s beret cap off the Eiffel Tower observation deck, causing a lady’s dachshund to jump off after it; later, young Rusty meets a hooker at a bawdy Paris can-can dance show. While in Paris, the family’s video camera is stolen by a passerby (Victor Lanoux) whom Clark had asked to take a picture of the family. Also, Clark, with his terrible French, manages to insult every native Frenchman.

The Griswolds burst in on a bewildered, elderly German village couple (Willy Millowitsch, Erika Wackernagel), who they mistakenly think are relatives but who serve them dinner anyhow, not knowing each other’s languages. Clark manages to turn a lively thigh-slapping Bavarian folk dance stage performance, choreographed as are all the musical sequences by Gillian Lynne, into an all-out street brawl, after which he, fleeing hastily, gets their Citroën DS stuck in a too-narrow medieval archway after knocking down several street vendors’ stands. The family members get on each others’ nerves while riding together in a train compartment.

In Rome, the Griswolds rent a car at a travel office. However, they don’t know that the real manager is restrained by two thieves. The leader thief gives them a car with the real manager in the trunk. He claims that he lost the keys to the trunk. Later the Griswolds go shopping. The next day Ellen angrily discovers that private sexy videos of her from the family’s previously stolen video camera have been used in a billboard advertising a pornographic movie, leaving her completely humiliated. After screaming her anger at Clark (who thought he erased the video as he had promised her), Ellen storms off to the hotel they are staying at and encounters the thief who sold them the car. She confesses her recent troubles. She is still unaware that he is a thief. The man then tries to get the car keys, which are in her purse. However he fails and then the police arrive at the hotel and Ellen tries to escape. She is kidnapped by him, prompting Clark to rescue her. At the end while flying back to the U.S.A., Clark causes the plane to “knock” the Statue of Liberty’s torch upside down.

Cameo appearances are made by John Astin (playing game show host “Kent Winkdale”), Moon Unit Zappa, Robbie Coltrane, Maureen Lipman, Leslie Phillips, Ballard Berkeley, Eric Idle and a musical appearance by The Power Station (“Some Like It Hot”).

REVIEW:

 National Lampoon’s European Vacation is another great entry into the National Lampoon lexicon. This sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation has been viewed by some as superior and by others as inferior. For me, it is somewhere in between.

Again we find the Griswolds going on vacation, this time as a result of winning a game show and earning a trip to Europe.

As with the previous film, there are numerous hijinks, hysterics, and utter ludicrousness to be found. This is what makes this franchise so great.

The thing that really gets me about this picture is how the plot is similar to the predecessor, and yet doesn’t feel recycled at all. Too often, I have seen sequels that are direct rip-offs of the previous film, just moved to a different location. Initially, that is what I thought this was going to be, but I was wrong.

Of course, as hilarious as this picture was, there are moments that just don’t work for me. For instance, there is the whole porn video thing with Mrs. Griswold, especially since this was only a PG-13 film (the previous film was rated R).

On top of that, the kids were replaced. Normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except for the simple fact that they didn’t seem to work. Making matters work, there seem to be a constant focus on Audrey’s weight.

Those points aside, having Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprising their roles really kept some sense of continuity with this film and the previous one. Not to mention that they are just as funny as ever and the chemistry between them has never been better.

National Lampoon’s European Vacation is one of those great films that often times gets overlooked in favor of another in the franchise. I’m not sure if this is my favorite, but it is for sure just as funny as National Lampoon’s Vacation. Do I think you should watch it? Why, of course. It is hilariously funny and a feel good romp that will be enjoyed by one and all.

4 out of 5 stars

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