Over the years, I have seen all of the Vacation movies featuring the Griswold family. The movies, especially the last two, get very silly at times, but I do enjoy watching them. I like to watch silly movies sometimes. They can be a good way to relax or unwind. Vegas Vacation is the fourth movie to feature the Griswold family and they misadventures on a vacation. I have seen this one several times and I find it funny and entertaining.

Clark W. Griswold got a bonus at work because his food preservative was just approved. To celebrate, he gave his wife and kids cookies that were years old and tried to get them to drink five year old milk. Then he sprang his idea on them. Clark decided that the family should go on a vacation. Everyone seemed excited about that idea until Clark said that they were going to Las Vegas. Ellen didn’t think that was a place to take a family and the kids didn’t think they would have anything to do there. Clark convinced them after he shared his plans for renewing his vows with Ellen for their anniversary. They family then became excited about the trip. Perhaps they all have selective amnesia and don’t remember their other disaster vacations. Or maybe they just blocked the memories out. Anyway, the family was off to Las Vegas.

The family flew to Las Vegas, so they must have learned from their cross country drive to Wally World. The flight wasn’t without a mishap though. Clark and Ellen decided that they were going to join the Mile High Club, and her foot got stuck in the toilet in one of the tiny bathrooms. Once in Las Vegas, the whole family was dazzled by the lights. They were staying at The Mirage, in connected rooms. Clark and Ellen had one, and Rusty and Audrey had they other. They were not happy to have to share a room. Clark was playing blackjack when Cousin Eddie showed up. Eddie, Catherine and their many children were living near Las Vegas. Clark wasn’t happy to see Eddie. That was also Clark’s first encounter with Marty, a very obnoxious blackjack dealer. Clark was not having good luck gambling.

The next day, the family went to visit Cousin Eddie and Catherine at their trailer in the middle of nowhere. Eddie cooked the chicken on a rock instead of a grill. One of their daughters, Vicky, was a dancer in Las Vegas and she offered to take Audrey around town and show her some fun. After the visit, Eddie and Catherine went along on the tour of the Hoover Dam, where Clark ended up getting into some trouble during the tour. Someone gave the family some free tickets to a Wayne Newton show where Wayne hit on Ellen. After the show, Clark went back to gambling, the kids went their separate ways, and Ellen spent some time with Wayne. Rusty got a fake I.D. and was able to gamble. Audrey was hanging out with Vicky.

The family ended up spending some time apart, and Ellen got very upset with Clark over his obsession with gambling. Clark lost a lot of money and has to try to salvage what is left of the vacation. Rusty and Audrey were doing their own things. Many more things happened during the movie.

CAST

Chevy Chase - Clark W. Griswold
Beverly D’Angelo - Ellen Griswold
Randy Quaid - Cousin Eddie
Miriam Flynn - Cousin Catherine
Ethan Embry - Rusty Griswold
Marisol Nichols - Audrey Griswold
Shae D’Lyn - Cousin Vicky
Wayne Newton - Himself
Siegfried - Himself
Roy - Himself
Sid Caesar - Mr. Ellis
Julia Sweeney - Mirage Reception Person
Wallace Shawn - Marty the Blackjack Dealer

Stephen Kessler - Director

Elisa Bell and Bob Ducsay - Writers

Vegas Vacation is rated PG. There are a few things and some language that young children shouldn’t see and hear, but I think it would be ok for older kids to see. There is some swearing in the movie, but nothing excessive. Vegas Vacation was made in 1997 and is 93 minutes long. The movie is available on VHS and DVD.

I enjoyed Vegas Vacation. It is silly, even ridiculous at times, but it is entertaining to watch. The movie isn’t really realistic, especially what happened with Clark at the Hoover Dam, but I can still enjoy an unrealistic movie. Watching this type of movie is a good way to escape. I did think that a few things in the movie, like how Clark became so obsessed with gambling, were realistic.

Vegas Vacation is a comedy. The movie made me laugh throughout the whole thing. What happened with Ellen and Clark in the bathroom of the airplane was funny. The scenes with Cousin Eddie were hilarious. Just seeing him in a scene was usually enough to start me laughing. That man wore some outrageous clothes and just did and said some strange things. I also thought that Marty the blackjack dealer was funny. He really seemed to enjoy antagonizing Clark.

Vegas Vacation is not a serious movie. Most of what happens in the movie is downright silly and ridiculous. In all of the Vacation movies, Clark has managed to get himself into some absurd situations. In Vegas Vacation it happened when the family was at Hoover Dam and Clark ended up climbing up the dam. Clark also went very overboard with his gambling during the vacation. He became obsessed with gambling in a short time. The scenes related to Clark’s gambling were funny, but they did also show what can happen to someone who isn’t responsible when they are gambling. Clark wasn’t responsible when he was gambling. He didn’t stop to think, and he never set any limits for himself. He just continued to bet, and before long he had lost a huge amount of money. Clark let the blackjack annoy him and egg him on to betting more. If Clark had been more responsible, set some limits on how much he could afford to lose, he could have avoided the mess he got in. So even though the movie was funny and silly, it did illustrate the dangers of gambling. Clark’s problem was solved rather easily and quickly in the movie, which isn’t realistic, but I think that the development of his problem was more realistic.

Most of Vegas Vacation took place in and around Las Vegas. The Griswold family was from Chicago, but there are only a few minutes of the movie that take place there, mainly in the Griswold home. The family stayed in The Mirage, and many scenes took place in the hotel and casino. Other places in and around Las Vegas showed up in the movie, including the Hoover Dam. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, so I have no idea if the settings were realistic.

There were a few special effects in Vegas Vacation. The effects were used in the scenes during the Griswold’s visit to the Hoover Dam. They weren’t the best special effects because I could easily tell which shots they were in, but they were better than what I have seen in many other movies. The special effects weren't so bad that they interfered with my enjoyment of the movie.

The acting in Vegas Vacation isn’t the greatest, but it is good. Chevy Chase was funny and believable as Clark. He and Beverly D’Angelo seemed like they really had been together for many years. Beverly D’Angelo was good as a wife who was fed up with her husband. Many of the actors in this movie have also been in some of the other Vacation movies. Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo have been in all four of the movies. Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn have been in three of the movies as Cousin Eddie and Cousin Catherine.

There have been different actors playing Rusty and Audrey in every movie. I think Rusty and Audrey are supposed to be about the same age in every movie. Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols were good in their roles. I did think that Marisol Nichols was better than who played Audrey in National Lampoon's European Vacation. That actress was very annoying to me.

The main characters of the Griswold family were well developed, but that is mainly because Vegas Vacation is the fourth movie to feature those characters. The characters are familiar now by now. Each movie has built on the character development of the previous movies, so there really wasn’t much character development in Vegas Vacation. Since Rusty and Audrey have been played by different actors in each movie, that has effected their characters. In each movie, those characters change a bit as the different actors bring new things to the roles. Overall, the kids aren’t as developed as their parents are though. There were a few minor characters who were only in a few scenes during the movie, so they weren’t developed much at all.

CHARACTERS

Clark W. Griswold - Ellen’s husband and the father of Audrey and Rusty. Clark does love his family, and wanted to use his bonus to take them on a nice vacation. He came up with all kinds of plans that never seemed to work out like he planned. He always managed to get in some bizarre situations. He became extremely obsessed with gambling, and almost ruined their vacation.

Ellen Griswold - Clark’s wife. She somehow managed to cope with the crazy ideas her husband gets, and the things he has does. She loves him, but she does get frustrated with him at times. She seemed to keep Clark in check most of the time. When he seemed to go a little insane, she was the one that calmed him back down. She kept her husband sane most of the time and kept her family together. It seemed like she felt a bit unappreciated when Clark was on his gambling spree, so she enjoyed it when Wayne Newton showed her some attention.

Rusty - Clark and Ellen’s son. He really wanted to gamble while in Las Vegas and was very upset when he saw a sign that says no one under 21 is allowed on the casino floor. He started trying to figure out ways he could gamble. He managed to get a fake I.D. and started to gamble. His luck was better than his father’s.

Audrey - Clark and Ellen’s daughter. She wasn’t having much fun on vacation until she started to hang out with her Cousin Vicky, who showed her around town. Audrey went a little wild after spending time with Vicky.

Cousin Eddie - He is related to Clark and Ellen because he married Catherine, Ellen’s cousin. Eddie didn’t seem to realize that Clark is annoyed by him. Eddie is very unique. He had a metal plate put in his head several years ago that turned out to be defective. That is how he got the land outside of Las Vegas. Because of the plate, Eddie fell down suddenly at different times. He always wore very unique clothes and never seemed to care if he made a scene.

Catherine - Ellen’s cousin and Eddie’s wife. She had been testing fertility drugs for extra money and thought she might be pregnant again. Her life isn’t perfect, but she loves her husband and family. She was happy to see Ellen again.

Vicky - One of Eddie and Catherine’s daughters. She was a bit wild. She was a dancer somewhere in Las Vegas and she took Audrey around town.

Vegas Vacation isn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, but it has entertained me. I think it is work watching if you like this type of movie. Sometimes I just need to watch something that is silly.

Vacation Movie Reviews
National Lampoon's Vacation ~ National Lampoon's European Vacation ~ National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ~




Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12