Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo put together another hilarious Griswold family vacation. While Ellen (D'Angelo) is busy falling for Wayne Newton, Clark (Chase) continues to screw things up by gambling away all of their vacation money. Eddie (Randy Quaid) somehow manages to meet up with the Griswold's again, continuing to act like a neanderthal. Rusty becomes a high roller and Audrey gets a hangover. If you liked the previous Vacation movies, I recommend Vegas Vacation. Even though it was not as good as Christmas Vacation, it is worth adding to your collection.
There is one big change for "Vegas Vacation" John Hughes is not back as the head writer. Hughes was the head writer for the previous three "Vacation" movies. Hughes was also one of the most successful writers and producers of the 1980s involved with such hits as "The Breakfast Club", "Pretty in Pink", "Ferris Beuller's Day Off", "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", "Weird Science", and the "Home Alone" movies. I was skeptical at first a "Vacation" movie could work without Hughes. However, Elisa Bell and Bob Ducsay don't drop the ball at all. They are able to keep to the integrity of the "Vacation" franchise. They are able to do this by continuing to work with the nucleus of actors that made this movie what it is Chevy Chase (Clark Griswald), Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold), and Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie). Despite using the fourth different set of actor/actresses to play the Griswold Children, nothing seems to miss a beat as we immediately come to accept Rusty and Audrey Griswold early in the movie.
The premise for the film is that Clark gets a big bonus and extra-time off from work for patent on a food preservative. As a result, he decides to once again embark on a family vacation this time to Las Vegas. Clark touts the marketing line that was very popular during the mid 1990s "Las Vegas as the Family Vacation Destination". After some initial resistance, the family agrees to go to Vegas with him. The trip to Vegas is the main plot, but four subplots evolve while the family is in Vegas. Each plot focuses on one of the four Griswolds. For Clark, he gets hooked on Gambling and will soon rapidly rack up a very amount of Gambling losses. For Ellen, she becomes the object of Wayne Newton's (played by himself) attention and affection. For Rusty, after he gets a fake id he goes on an incredibly lucky gambling streak and soon is hanging out with the high rollers. As for Audrey, she hooks up with Cousin Eddie's wild daughter Vickie, starts to take on some of Vegas' party life and soon ends up as a Club Dancer. Of the four subplots, the Audrey subplot is probably the weakest, but it is not all bad. On the flipside, perhaps the best plot is the one involving Rusty. Rusty's alter ego "Nick Pappagiorgio" the High Roller provides some of the best moments in the movie.
Cousins Eddie (Quaid) and Catherine (played by Miriam Flynn) are back as well. The writers find a very good way to weave them back into the story as this time Eddie, Catherine, and their large family are living outside Las Vegas in the middle of the desert. I like how the character of Cousin Eddie has evolved in the "Vacation" movies. In the first movie, Eddie had a harder edge. In "Christmas Vacation" (the producers made a foolish mistake of not finding a way to include Eddie and Catherine in "European Vacation"), the character of Eddie began to get more loveable. This trend continues in "Vegas Vacation". I do think that the character of Eddie comes full-circle in this movie. When Clark blows all of his money, it is Eddie that not only provides emotional support to Clark but even finds a way to help him out financially as well. This is a great turnaround because in the previous films, it was Clark that was usually helping Eddie out.
Another notable performance comes from a little known actor named Wallace Shawn. Wallace plays "Marty" who is a dealer in the Casino. Clark begins to engage in a war of wills with Marty throughout the movie and it's Marty who always seems to get the best of him. It is also worth noting that Christie Brinkley, who was in the original "Vacation" movie is back for a brief cameo reprising her role from the original movie.
For the most part, the movie was filmed within Las Vegas. The majority of the scenes take place in The Mirage Hotel (including a performance by Sigfried and Roy in which Clark manages to find his way into the act). There are some other scenes that take place at the MGM, Riviera, Golden Nugget, and O'Shea's Casino. There are plenty of scenes of the strip. One inaccuacy is when the Griswolds go to visit Eddie and Catherine's place just North of Las Vegas, they actually drive southbound on the strip just past the Luxor.
There are two drawbacks to the movie. I do think there is less physical comedy in this movie than in previous "Vacation" films particularly of Clark. Clark's best physical comedy scenes come before they leave for the Vegas trip. The other drawback is I do think the movie has a weak ending (despite a small appearance by Sid Caesar). In general while I have always enjoyed the "Vacation" movies, the endings have been disappointing in each of them.
There is some excellent music in this movie and it is used very well with the scenes including a combination of some contemporary tunes with some "Vegas" style tunes. Overall, this is still probably one of the better "Vacation" movies definitely one worth getting and watching over and over.
It is the same story, the Griswolds are off to wreak havoc on another city. This time Clark decides to take the whole family to Las Vegas so he and Ellen can renew their wedding vows for their anniversary. They manage to leave their unique Griswold touch on most Vegas institutions, like a Seigfried and Roy show, a Wayne Newton show and the Hoover Dam. Most of the comedic highlights in this movie come either when the ultimate white-trash, cousin Eddie is onscreen or when Clark is at the blackjack table.
My favorite part of this movie is Ethan Embry as the most dimwitted Russ to date. He buys a fake ID, becomes a high roller and wins 4 cars gambling. I would recommend renting this movie, but not buying it, the 'bonus' features are light.
Read Best Reviews of Vegas Vacation (2013) Here
While National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation remains the funniest of the entire series, Vegas Vacation has a lot of laughs that is sure to please its audiences. This time, Clark, Ellen, Rusty and Audrey are off to Las Vegas, where Clark plans on renewing his wedding vows to Ellen. However, the inevitable temptation to gamble becomes too much for Clark, and he begins to squander all of his money, delving into his savings. Meanwhile, his wife is being courted by Wayne Newton, his son is posing as a married man from Uma, and his daughter becomes a club dancer. And what would a vacation movie be without good ol' cousin Eddie, played by the hilarious Randy Quaid? This time, he's living in a mobile home on a former H-bomb test site, and he offers his help to Clark after he loses all of his money. While it is clear that some of the laughs are missed from th previous films, this one does not fail to please, giving more laughs than you would think and keeping the entertainment alive.Want Vegas Vacation (2013) Discount?
We have all the Chevy Chase Vacation movies, they will always be a classic for our family. We take Christmas Vacation to our summer cabin and watch it whenever the grandchildren are there. We have now added this to our collection for the lake and I'm sure this will be a tradition also. Wish he'd make some more.Save 25% Off
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