I must confess that NATIONAL LAMPOON'S Vacation has a special resonance for me. Shortly after this movie was released, my dad packed his five kids into a Saab and took a drive to the closest Six Flags - only to find that it was closed. I don't remember him quite flipping out so dramatically and hilariously as Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold does under similar circumstances in Vacation, but I do remember him stopping the car at an overpass, getting out, and pacing for what seemed an eternity, waiting for the rambunctiousness of us kids to settle down. And that might have been before we even got there in the first place. That's what makes this 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD of Vacation particularly disappointing.
Vacation starts off with Clark, the earnest but underachieving family man, going to trade in his old station wagon with his son, Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall in his second film role) for the new Antarctic Blue wagon. Apparently there was some confusion, and he is presented with the Metallic P, a monstrosity of the sort that only Hollywood can dream up. Not wanting to be taken for the sucker that it is already apparent that he is, he asks for his old car back. Once he is presented with the old wagon, now crushed to 1/3 its height, a great running joke and a perfect tone of farce is set for one of the best road comedies ever made.
Settling for the Metallic P, Clark returns home, where we meet the rest of the Griswolds, wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) and daughter, ummm, Audrey (Dana Barron). It seems that Clark is taking the family on a two-week trek from Chicago across the great USA to see the sights and enjoy the landscape, culminating in a visit to Walley World in Southern California where any references to Disney Land are purely intentional.
Many great comedies are written with wit, flair, and a clever repartee among the characters. This is certainly not one of them. Don't get me wrong, for this movie has some great lines, but Vacation is a sight gag-imbued, physical comedy played to the hilt. The woes that befall the Griswolds on their trip almost achieve a goofy Greek tragedy scope, especially since most of them result from Clark's own faults or poor planning. This is most evident in the climactic scene when he hijacks all of Walley World because he neglected to check whether it would even be open when he arrived.
Chase is certainly most responsible for making the film work so well. He takes every opportunity to react and over-react to each incident that occurs, even the ones that don't directly result from his idiocies, such as meeting up with white trash cousin-in-law Eddie (Randy Quaid) and Ellen's Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca). And while Clark does screw up often, most notably when he is caught skinny dipping with Christie Brinkley who he has been running in to at various points in his odyssey, he does end up making things right (even if he has to fib a little in the case of Brinkley by telling Ellen that she is "ugly").
Though judging by the cover of the new DVD there appears to be a lot of great extras here, it all comes up a little short. The introduction by Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and producer Matty Simmons is basically just that, and it lasts less than a minute. There's a "Family Truckster" interactive featurette where you can click on various parts of the family car, which leads to brief interview segments, but nothing terribly interesting. The best thing about this Special Edition is the audio commentary, though even that's not that good. It's nice to watch the movie and see how brilliant Chase is; it's not so nice listening to Chase tell you every few minutes how brilliant he is. Poor Dana Barron sounds like an impetuous child trying to get a few words in here and there, but her insights seem to be met mostly with blank stares. If blank stares are obvious in an audio commentary, that can't be good. Also joining in for the chat are director Harold Ramis, producer Simmons and Anthony Michael Hall. The shining point is Ramis' reflections, which make up a good part of the commentary and therefore make the session worthwhile.
Vacation is a movie that can be watched over and over again, not so much because you see something new every time, but just because the jokes stay fresh and the film still manages to evoke laughs. So even if the extras leave a little bit to be desired, this DVD is king and Vacation wears its crown well.
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