The Great Outdoors

It's hard to view "The Great Outdoors" as more than just a cog in the high-production machine of late 80s comedy including the talents of John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, etc. Most of the film is incredibly predictable and the plot is almost entirely formulaic, yet despite it all, it's hard to truly despise this film. It's nothing more than average, but still enjoyable. Of all the films that master 80's comedy writer John Hughes has written ("Ferris Bueller," "The Breakfast Club") this is not one of his standouts.

John Candy stars as Chet Ripley, yet another likable protagonist who is always getting screwed over by his jerk of a co-star, in this case Dan Akyroyd as his brother-in-law, Roman Craig. Chet wants peace and quiet in a small Canadian lakefront town with his family when the Craigs drop in uninvited. It's so overdone and overused, but a few of the scenes are quite funny and somewhat unique.

What makes this film different is that it feels more family-oriented. Not in the sense that it's appropriate for all ages, but in the sense that the film offers something for every member of the family. Whether it's the adult dialogue, the films troublesome kids, or the unimportant teenage fling/romance subplot, "Great Outdoors" tries to make a reason for every demographic to see this movie. It seems really contrived, but other than the National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, this is honestly one of the most family-oriented comedies of that era.

"Great Outdoors" is not a staple of 80s comedy, but it does add some ample padding in the overall collection, especially when it comes to "fun for all ages."

A great comedy to settle down with after a long day. Aykroyd and Candy make a great pair in this off-beat comedy about life in the woods, and how one simple vacation turns into a dreaded day-to-day horror.

Basic Plot: John Candy and his family go up to Canada for a family vacation away from the city for several days. Seemingly fine, until they get to their cabin, the whole vacation starts to fall apart from the moment they arrive. Not only is there fish everywhere in their vacation home, but just when mom and dad think they're alone, their brother and sister in-law walk in on them, with their two daughters. From a water-skiing adventure gone wrong- to eating a whole family's worth of food (pun definitely intended.), the movie seems to continually take a turn for the worst. The subplot is Candy's oldest son, who starts to fall in love with a local, to give it that romance along with all the humor that's going on between the adults.

A fun movie to watch from 10- whenever.

I give it a 7.5 out of 10 (10 being the highest). Not one of the best movies ever but certainly funny and it has some great writing too.

A little piece of trivia:

At the end of "She's Having a Baby" right before the credits, you see the wife asking Kevin Bacon what they should name the baby... People from all sorts of films and T.V. shows voice their opinions, including some of the cast members from 'The Great Outdoors'.

And that's the end of this review.

As a child of the eighties, its hard not to view this film thru the lens of nostalgia. John Candy is hilarious as the simple but decent family guy who wishes to take his family on a vacation to the great outdoors. His plans are rudely disrupted by his boorish brother in law, who crashes the family event and manages to disrupt all of Candy's plans. While there's nothing particularly stunning or insightful here, its fun and reminds me of days gone by. Although seen thru the eye of comedians, many of us can remember "disastrous" family vacations like this, with relatives that we sometimes couldn't stand and plans gone awry, but still forming some of our most fond memories. It is also somewhat bittersweet for me, as most of the beautiful and rustic locales in the film have disappeared during the intervening years, a loss I hadn't even noticed or thought about until I watched the film again. The film is very family friendly and, if you haven't seen it, definitely worth a viewing.

I remember seeing this movie back in the late 80's, when I was young, and I have fond memories of it being a great and fun movie. And sure enough, having sat down again here in 2012 and watch it again, the movie was every bit as funny and entertaining and I remembered it to be.

But of course, why wouldn't it? You have two of the greatest comedians in American cinema in it; Dan Aykroyd (playing Roman) and John Candy (playing Chet), and they were really a great comedian couple, complementing each other well and having great on-screen chemistry.

The story in "The Great Outdoors" is about the Ripley family coming to a very idyllic and beautiful cabin site, where Chet's father used to take Chet when he was a child, and now Chet want his children to have their own memories of this paradise. But within only moments of getting there, Chet's brother Roman and his family show up unannounced to surprise the Ripley's and spend a week of vacation together.

The movie is filled with great and memorable moments that will have you laughing hard, because Aykroyd and Candy really do some great comedy in this movie and put on great performances. Sure it is very 1980's in spirit, but still today the movie is fun and entertaining to watch. And I personally never will tire of John Candy and his greatly missed comedy act, he was truly one of a kind.

If you enjoy 80's comedies and the movies of Dan Aykroyd and/or John Candy, then I am sure you are already well familiar with "The Great Outdoors", but if you aren't, then get your hands on this movie, because it is well worth a watch.

The eighties was a decade of film brilliance. Not Academy Awards maybe, or deeply intriguing movies but instead R-Rated, ridiculous, fun, pompous, films that were just not thought provoking but instead FUN!! What was R-Rated back then would be barely a PG today which also reflects the kind of society we have turned into. Enter "The Great OutDoors" with fellow Canadian comedians who knew comedy unlike no one has since.

Dan Akroyd and John Candy are just great. They aren't brilliant actors (although Dan has shown some promise in great movies such as The Arrow and My Girl) but instead they can get together to deliver laughs and they do. The Great Outdoors is the quintessential eighties film about a family on vacation. It's about the desire to succeed and BUY STUFF (an eighties must.) It's about who is the better man, and man vs nature and all that kind of stuff. More importantly it delivers the perfect blend of physical comedy AND one liners that actually made me laugh out loud. Akroyd and Candy play like a stand up comedy act and it works so well that you forget everyone else. They really don't add or take away from the story, you just forget anyone else is there...it doesn't really matter much. You're in this to see Chet and Roman battle it out mostly behind each other's backs. The cinematography is great in this movie as well. They used an actual lake although it was in California, not Wisconsin and it really helps the setting. You feel as though you're roughing it out right beside them. The best part is the climax with the bear, what a great scene. As predictable as you might think it is...it's just awesome. Candy is hilarious and sadly missed in future endeavours. Akroyd pulls off the pompous, greedy and loud mouthed lawyer type to a T and manages to not take himself too seriously. As with all eighties films they manage to toss in the someone is in trouble, everyone has to pull together and save them story ending but it works and this movie is without a doubt a classic, whether comedy or just film in general, it will always be remembered fondly. 8/10