I actually saw this film the night it opened back in June 1988. I really thought, given the cast, that it was going to be a great movie...was I wrong. I remember sitting in the theater thinking "when is it going to get funny?" It's like the whoe thing was being restrained so it could maintain a PG (I think PG) rating. If this movie would have been produced with an R-rating, it could have been hilarious.
However, I do enjoy this movie more with each viewing. Even though it still seems more like a Walt Disney flick, I get more attached to it each time.
Posted by Marty McFly (Member # 4403) on :
Oh, I've loved this movie for years!
I was really into movies in the early and mid '90s. John Candy was one of the guys who I pretty much wanted to see everything he was in.
It was probably, like 1993 or '94 when I first saw it. I never thought about it being held back to have a "PG" feel to it, but I kinda see what you're saying. There were a few cuss words and very (albiet VERY) vague innuendoes, etc. but it still had that family feel to it. Personally, I think it works best that way - especially in that innocent '80s sense.
Any movie where the two main guys hate each other and can't get along, is ultimately gonna be funny. Roman and Chet's misadventures were believable and humorous. In a way, I could also relate to the storyline. Not full on or anything, but occasionally, when I was a kid in the late '80s, my parents would go on vacation to Lake Tahoe for skiing, etc. so their cabin kinda reminded me of staying out there.
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
People don't give this film enough respect, I feel. While it is admittedly the weakest of the Hughes-Candy collaborations, the fact that it is one automatically makes it in my mind better than 87% of the other films out there. If I'd have to break down a list of the best film fathers out there, Chet Ripley would be very high on the list, and definitely a father I would like to have. He's everything a patriarch should be, even though his sons clearly have more common sense than he does (notably how he ignores his own "let go of the rope" tip and thus subjects himself to being dragged all over the lake ("I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying!!!!")). I personally think a PG-13 rating would have been a little more appropriate given a few of the sequences Hughes and Howard Deutsch throw in (you know what I mean), but it works fine as it is. The final confrontation with The Bald-Headed Killer Bear of Clare County is a great mixture of suspense with humor, with the bear's jumping up and down on top of the door trying to crush Candy, the expression on Aykroyd's face when he sees it really is over 8 feet high, and Candy ultimately dispatching it by blowing the hair off its rear with the shotgun lamp providing good contrast to the tension. A definite must-see if you haven't.
Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
Oh I love this movie! This is one that me and my Dad watch together over and over.... I thought it was hilarious the first time I saw it, and funnier every time after.
It reminds me of Summer Rental, also a John Candy flick. You know, family vacation gone wrong, just like in National Lampoon's Vacation (with John as the security guard).
Family movies like that always crack me up. Maybe it's becauas we all can relate to family stuff like that. I don't know but that stuff has always been funny to me.
Posted by Marty McFly (Member # 4403) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ali_with_an_i: Oh I love this movie! This is one that me and my Dad watch together over and over.... I thought it was hilarious the first time I saw it, and funnier every time after.
It reminds me of Summer Rental, also a John Candy flick. You know, family vacation gone wrong, just like in National Lampoon's Vacation (with John as the security guard).
Family movies like that always crack me up. Maybe it's becauas we all can relate to family stuff like that. I don't know but that stuff has always been funny to me.
Yeah. Summer Rental is another longtime favorite, and very "mid '80s" feeling. I never thought of how similar these two are, but they really do share alot.
In SR, I guess you could say Captain Pellet was his "rival" the way Roman was in Great Outdoors.
P.S. Now, I'm wondering, how well would Jack Chester and Chet Ripley (and, for that matter, each of their respective families) get along? Perhaps that'll be a future fanfiction idea for me! Posted by the_haimster (Member # 4485) on :
This movie is as good a family comedy as anything i have ever seen. They don't make them like this anymore, quite simply because it was the era that stole the show. The Great Outdoors caught the late 80's at it's very best and to this day when i watch this movie i feel nothing but pure nostalgia.
Anyone that has experienced a normal family up-bringing will relate to many things in this movie. For me personally i relate to Chet's youngest as we was of a similar age at that time. Then there was big brother Buck (who was at that classic teen coming of age period.) For me John Candy played a truly memorable part in this movie and let's not forget about the annoying Roman who also was fantastic.
My favourite scene in this movie is pure 80's classic. It would have to be Chet tackling the 96er at the restaurant just to win the family a free meal and then leaving the place with his hat and t-shirt. Family comedy at it's very best. Me and my Dad still make regular jokes about this movie such was the way in which it touched us.
Overall it's a family gem which has something for everyone.
Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
oh and don't forget those cute little racoons. I cracked up every time they dug through garbage and we could see subtitles of what they were saying to eachother. Very Funny.
Posted by mamamiasweetpeaches (Member # 1715) on :
Yes, I also agree that when its on TV we watch it. And keyword there is "we"...it is a family me, the old man AND the little kid can enjoy. Will also agree that pretty much any movie starring John Candy is pretty much watchable. He's a safe bet.
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
And I also love the duel with the bat, from the loud and crazy open ("It touched me!" "It's been touching you for 12 years, you never freaked!" "NOT YOU!!!") to the big finish where the bat lands right on Candy's face and Aykroyd absolutely wallops him. Classic.
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
I love this movie!! I found the DVD at Walmart a few months back. I was always a big John Candy fan, and this is probably my favorite movie with him in it. I always thought that Ian Giatti, who played the youngest son Ben, was so cute. I thought the raccoons were funny and the guy who had gotten struck by lightning so many times.
Posted by stu1984 (Member # 3248) on :
The movie is one of my all time favourites. John Candy is such an awesome talent, and a talent that I personally miss.
Most of the highlights of the movie have already been mentioned so I won't repeat them again.
All I'll say is the film is awesome, and they definitely don't and can't make them like that anymore.
Posted by Jessie the Sunflower Goddess (Member # 1877) on :
Funny movie with Aykroyd and Candy. This was a pairing that I would have loved to have seen a lot more of on screen.
I think I actually picked this up in a cheap bin at Wal-Mart and I haven't even taken the wrapping off of it yet.
I cannot believe that Annette Benning played Aykroyd's wife. It is hard to believe that she has gone on to get several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her work. Still not bad for a movie debut, starring next to two comic legends as Candy and Aykroyd.
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