"Why aren't we flying? Because getting there is half the fun."
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster. You think you hate it now, but wait till you drive it.I think, next to Fletch, this is the best Chevy Chase movie ever. Seriously.
If you can get past the fact that it's a little bit dated, it's actually pretty funny. It's the family vacation from hell, and it spawned three sequels (all of them inferior).
Think about it: how many times have you taken a vacation to somewhere that you had been planning for weeks, months or even years, and dammit if something doesn't get screwed up. Imagine that on a much larger scale, and you've got the entire Griswold family. They end up in fleabag motels, they have inbreeds for family (led by Randy Quaid as white trash Cousin Eddie), and they kill - in succession - a dog and an aunt, neither of them intentionally. When they do get to WallyWorld, the bastion of goodness and fun, and it's closed, Clark (Chase) goes off the deep end, and takes his family through the park anyway, holding a portly security guard (John Candy) hostage with a BB gun ("What? Are you kidding me? This is a 'Magnum P.I.'!").
Funny, funny, funnny, although I never understood what was so hot about Christie Brinkley.I think you're all fucked in the head. We're ten hours from the fucking fun park and you want to bail out. Well I'll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun. We're all gonna have so much fucking fun we'll need plastic surgery to remove our godamn smiles. You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of you're assholes! I gotta be crazy! I'm on a pilgrimage to see a moose. Praise Marty Moose! Holy Shit!
This film is available for download or online viewing at CinemaNow.com For more in the CinemaNow.com series, click here.
For more in the National Lampoon Movies series, click here.
Trilogy Starters: For more in the Trilogy Starters series, click here.
User Comments
7/05/17
JASON
GREAT FROM BEGINING TO END
7/13/12
keith miron
The best movie of 1983 ?
1/24/11
Diehard
art do u even like movies pull out the stick and laugh ur face wont crack
12/12/10
David A.
I don't care what Howard Stern says--Chevy Chase is funny!!!
7/01/10
art
HORRIBLE!
2/13/10
Brian
The scene with everyone asleep in the car is great! Chase's best except for Caddyshack!
2/10/08
Pamela White
it is all Karma for Clark
5/04/07
tom
Nine years worth of comments! &I love the Ford LTD
1/02/06
Anthony Feor
The best vacation movie to date
7/30/05
Chris
A classic, indeed.
5/26/05
tony
A classic funny film!
5/12/05
Jennifer Regan
A classic, must see
3/24/05
indrid cold
A few funny scenes, but I don't get why it's such a cult classic.
1/16/05
Jeff Anderson
A TOTAL DELIGHT!! Irresistibly nutty, perfectly acted, and funny as hell. H. Ramis' best.
7/27/04
Ken
A very, very funny film! It's better each time you watch it!
7/17/04
Phil M. Aficionado
Some laugh out loud lines; great characters; not great art but more than "cute"==> cutting
1/26/04
x-nonymous
Funny as hell!
1/26/04
john bale
Spot on comedy of clever slapstick, cast all contribute. Griswolds are real funny people
10/10/03
JimmyC
One of the best comedy movies ever
8/30/03
Kitty Kelso
my sis Cat was the one who got me into this movie
6/17/03
Andrew Callaway
Very, very funny. If you didn't like Caddyshack you may want to want till it comes on TV.
3/16/03
G-man
i loved to go on this vacation
11/07/02
Jay
Fucking hilarious!!!
10/28/02
Jay
I dare anyone who doesn't like this movie to smash my dick and testicles w/a steel shoe!!!!
10/14/02
Charles Tatum
I still hum "Holiday Road" when I get in the station wagon
9/27/02
Tom Fleeman
Chevy Chase has no RIVAL! A great flick!
7/27/02
moviemachine
Chevy Chase is funny here!
7/03/02
gary vidmar
chevy chase is the ultimate obsessive "geek" dad. Hilarious work!
6/02/02
R.W. Welch
Lightweight but often funny account of family's nightmare vacation.
5/10/02
Butterbean
This and European vacation were the highlights of Chase's career.
4/05/02
Justin
We're all gonna have so much fucking fun! This is a funny movie!
3/21/02
Patrick
Cool, Dad, can we go up on it? - "No."
11/27/01
C.B
the car was great
10/27/01
Andrew Carden
This Movie Is Extremly Funny and Hiliarious.
8/06/01
Mr. Hat (formerly Joe Zappa)
All except for the murdered Dog, "Vacation" is really really really really really fun......
7/25/01
Matt Engel
You leave his dead mother tied to a lawn chair in his back yard I'm sure he won't mind!!
6/22/01
King Jackass
Ahhh, another comic classic!
6/09/01
Ford Car Fan
i liked the station wagon (note: The truckster is actually a 1983 Ford LTD Country Squire).
5/30/01
Chevy Murray
50 feet
5/24/01
Chaz Melonic
The best vacation movie. I want a Wagon Queen Family truckster
4/09/01
Gary
Saw it for the first time today. Best Vacation movie!
4/09/01
Aaron
One of my all time favorites. I saw a Truckster that was used in the movie at a car show!!
2/14/01
*~Danielle*Ophelia~* (formerly KyLe*BrOfLoVsKi)
My family is just like the Griswolds...I totally relate!!!!
2/13/01
Lee
Chevy Chase being put to good use causes laughter and lots of it
2/05/01
Classicdog
Griswold's rule!! Very funny movie. Oh, Sparky!
1/14/01
Dave
Best movie ever made! Period.
10/24/00
Andrew
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster - it's a damn fine automobile!!
10/09/00
Monday Morning
Randy Quaid's character is worth two stars right there.
9/05/00
Bender
Hilarious Road movie. The best of the series.
9/01/00
Lnio Evgueni Coria Mendoza
An American classic!
5/31/00
Ben Larson
Not great
4/04/00
Steve Chase
It's a classic - original STILL the best. HILARIOUS!
2/17/00
steve layne
One of the movies I watched a lot as a kid and it still is very funny
10/15/99
Mike Henderson
Better than cleaning latrines with a toothbrush!!!!!
9/13/99
Jason Kinsey
the best Vacation movie by far!
7/09/99
Ben Leostein
Rating: *** (out of ****) Category: "Good"
5/12/99
ras_jose@yahoo.com
funny in spots, randy quaid is everyones relative-from-hell.
5/04/99
Big Dog
I laughed my ass off, Randy Quaid is everyones worst relative
1/22/99
C Dub
The original Vacation, an all time classic comedy. Absolutely hilarious.
12/10/98
Scott Hill
You have got to be a parent to apreciate this movie.
10/28/98
Silent Rob
The springboard that propelled Hughes towards 16 Candles
10/10/98
J-Guy
pretty good, not the best. watch it on tv, or rent it to see some titty.
10/10/98
{{{OZ}}}
When you remember it was the early 80's when this came out, it comes across much better.