Showing posts with label John Candy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Candy. Show all posts

Monday, November 19, 2018

SUMMER RENTAL (1985)

I don’t care for comedies like this. The ones where the main character is a sad sack and/or a totally unlikable asshole and the entire movie is simply him/her bumbling around acting like a jackass and/or getting fucked over.  It's depressing.

John Candy plays a unlikable slob who sucks at his job so much that they force him to take a paid summer vacation.  Once in the fictional Citrus Cove, Florida, Candy does everything wrong right from the beginning.  Including, on the very first day, moving into the wrong house (how does that even happen?!) and then getting into very public argument in a restaurant with one of the most powerful guys in town (Richard Crenna)...who also just happens to be the landlord of the house he's supposed to be in.  The insane consequences don't stop there!  Ohhh, no...Candy also sucks so bad at sailing that he accidentally punctures a hole in the side of Crenna's boat.  After that, he takes sailing lessons from a local restaurant owner (Rip Torn) and then races Crenna in the annual Citrus Cove Regatta.  Crenna has won the last 7 years.

SUMMER RENTAL isn't a bad film, it's just really boring and frustrating to watch.  I felt zero connection with the main character and thought over and over that if I ran into him in real life, I'd most likely be irritated by him.  Example: when he walks out to the beach to meet his family, he tramples and spills cold water all over dozens of innocent people that were just relaxing.  Also, the jokes were totally lame.  At one point, Candy sees his daughter moping around, so he asks his wife "What's with Frances Farmer?"  Yeah, that's a real knee slapper!

Failed attempts at humor, boring photography, one lame topless scene, slow pace (mainly because nothing really happened for the entire film), abrupt ending, some cool old vintage movie posters in the movie theater lobby scene.  I really can't think of any reason to watch SUMMER RENTAL.  Skip it.

Monday, February 13, 2017

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (1983)

"You'll be whistling zippity-doo-dah out of your assholes!"

In hopes of being able to spend some much needed quality time with his family, food additive designer Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), buys a new monster station wagon and sets off on a cross-country road trip to visit the world-famous Wally World amusement park in Los Angeles.  Along the way, all kinds of crazy shit happens.  Everything from visiting inbred family members and eating dog urine-marinated sandwiches to skinny dipping in a freezing swimming pool.  And let's not forget Christie Brinkley as the "Girl in the Ferrari".  God only knows how many kids busted a nut to her back in the 80's!  I know of, at least, one!

Newer audiences today will probably find NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION to be dated and lame, but as a child of the 1980's I have a soft spot for it and can't even tell you how many times I've seen it.  Dozens, easily.  Quick pace, iconic characters, quotable lines ("Yeah, but Daddy says I'm the best at it."), nice scenery, ancient electronics, 80's fashions, a stack of nudie books this high, great acting by everybody, a moose getting punched in the nose, yo mama gettin' fucked, people whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of their assholes, Eugene Levy as a car salesman, Beverly D'Angelo topless, John Candy as a security guard and probably the highlight of the film to me: a surprise appearance by Eddie Bracken!!  Just the mere sight of him brought up memories of the wedding scene in THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK and I immediately started smiling ear to ear.

Highly recommended.  An absolute must watch for anybody interested in 80's movies.

Part 2 - National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
Part 3 - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Part 4 - Vegas Vacation (1997)
Part 5 - Vacation (2015)