Review – National Lampoon’s Vacation

This one is more consistently funny than any of its many sequels, though really the first half is a lot better than the second. I suspect that most of the humor is supposed to lie in childhood reminiscence about vacations that went just as bad – if not worse – than the one Chevy Chase and family suffer through here. I’m happy to say that most of the goings-on here are outside my personal experience, though an odd occasional moment or two have at least a little resonance. However, be warned that the lion’s share of the humor is of the frat boy variety so prominently featured in the magazine with byline credit. There’s also some dog violence, though it’s such an obvious riff on an old urban legend that it actually comes off more cute than terrible. Also, if you happen to be watching the censored for television version, be advised that you’re going to miss a few of the jokes entirely and get watered-down versions of many others. Mildly amusing