National Lampoon's Vacation

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National Lampoon's Vacation

R

1983

1h 38m

Comedy

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

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50 Reviews

85%

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100,000+ Ratings

Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.

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Critics Consensus

Blessed by a brilliantly befuddled star turn from Chevy Chase, National Lampoon's Vacation is one of the more consistent -- and thoroughly quotable -- screwball comedies of the 1980s.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

06/24/2015

Half-baked but occasionally hilarious, National Lampoon's Vacation gets a reasonable amount of mileage out of depicting the disaster-prone journey of a "typical" family of four, the Griswolds of suburban Chicago.

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Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

10/07/2009

This is one Vacation trip not to be missed.

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Variety Staff

Variety

05/07/2008

National Lampoon's Vacation is an enjoyable trip through familiar comedy landscapes.

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Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

08/01/2023

3.5/5

"Vacation," and especially cousin Eddie have long become oft-referenced parts of the American pop culture lexicon. While not from this episode, we all know the two-word response for when your bathroom's not working. Isn't that national treasure territory?

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

07/16/2023

Sets the standard for the sub-genre of road trip films, and it’s still the best of its ilk...

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

07/14/2023

3.5/5

Some jokes feel a rewrite away from leaning into the right sort of stereotyping rather than the more offensive ones. Still, the comedy's vision of ugly Americanism in America and the scourge of suburbanite selfishness helps it scoot past its problems.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Jul 24

A treasure of a classic comedy with so many moments of truth you nod a lot in recognition. This and Christmas Vacation are Chevy Chase’s best performances. The cast is full of small, great pieces of comedy by an amazing cast. I laughed out loud a lot and Lindsey Buckingham’s title song is a classic. One of the best comedies of the 80s.

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Allen R

@AL_SeesALotOfMovies Jul 6

Hilarious family road trip.

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Brent A

@BrentAprill45 Jul 1

40% rating ... I think this film is overrated. I could see why a ton of people enjoyed it and thought it was funny, especially in the early 1980's. I don't think a lot of the jokes stood the test of time. But there was a couple of really hilarious one-liners. Worth a view, but like most comedies, it's a hit or miss depending on your humor preference.

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Vikki E

@RT78111898 Jun 7

Born in 79 so grew up watching these films, absolutely love it even now in 2026! Cant beat the older films

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Rio P

@Ericraymond111 Jan 23

Funniest movie ever

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Charlie T

@KIDCRITIC Dec 26

Watched National Lampoon’s Vacation this year. This is a funny but very dark movie from the 80s. It is about a man named Clark Griswold and his family go on a roadtrip to a roller coaster theme park from Chicago to southern California and go through shenanigans the whole time. The movie has good quality. The storytelling is good but kinda disturbing and the acting was good from Chevy chase. Overall I would rate this movie a 4.0 stars out 5 stars. The only gripe was I wish it was not dark and disturbing. My favorite scene was when they crush the car at the beginning. I would not recommend this movie.

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Harold Ramis

Director

Chevy Chase

Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.

Beverly D'Angelo

Ellen Griswold

Christie Brinkley

The Girl in the Ferrari

Anthony Michael Hall

Russell "Rusty" Griswold

Imogene Coca

Aunt Edna

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Synopsis

Accompanied by their children, Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen, are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.

Director: Harold Ramis
Producer: Matty Simmons
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 1983, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)