National Lampoon's European Vacation

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National Lampoon's European Vacation

PG-13

1985

1h 34m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

37%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

After winning a European vacation on a game show, Clark Griswold convinces his reluctant family to accompany him. His wife, Ellen, is excited, but daughter Audrey is reluctant to leave her boyfriend behind, while teen son Rusty dreams of meeting girls. After arriving in London, the clan encounters one disaster after another as they travel through France, Germany and Italy, while Clark's attempts to cheer everyone up make things worse.

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Critics Consensus

European Vacation charts a course through a succession of pretty destinations, but the journey itself lacks the laughs that made the original outing so memorable.

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

08/13/2020

The film spares us no stereotypes.

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Time Out Staff

Time Out

08/13/2020

3/5

Overall, it's not quite funny or memorable enough.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

08/13/2020

Broad, sketchlike, and arbitrarily assembled, Amy Heckerling's 1985 film fritters away the considerable credit of relative psychological realism and dramatically consistent situations built up by its predecessor...

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Sierra Filucci

Common Sense Media

08/17/2023

3/5

This broad comedy touches on all the funny and awful elements of family travel, from bickering siblings to managing unfamiliar customs.

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

08/13/2020

3/5

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo's infectious enthusiasm manages to sweep you along (as begrudgingly as kids Jason Lively and Dana Hill) on this cliché-ridden package tour.

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David Elliott

Copley News Service

01/30/2019

It must have been fun for the film's makers to work in London, Paris, Rome and Southern Germany, but their fun didn't get exported to us.

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Paul D.

@MoroseMusician Mar 10

The actors hired to play Audrey and Rusty for this sequel detracted from what was already an ill-conceived and poorly executed sequel to the original movie, which itself wasn’t exactly masterful film making. There were age-inappropriateness issues in the screenplay involving both of the kids, which were intended to elicit laughter but which instead probably caused adults with teenaged children to cringe.

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Lionel H

@Lionel.H Jan 6

I thought it was a really great movie, i give it 4 stars because some of the jokes weren't that funny. over all i really dont think it deserves 37%.

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Alex A.

@TheKriticKid Dec 20

This a really good movie but it isn’t as good as the first vacation. I really recommend this movie👍

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M G

@RT46851707 Dec 18

The first Vacation is one of my favorite movies, and I can rewatch Vegas and Christmas Vacation as well. This is the weakest of the bunch. It's not that funny. The kids are not the same, which is okay for Audrey..Dana Hill is a fine substitute..but I am really missing the dorky charm of Anthony Michael Hall here. There are so many European stereotypes at play you can pretty much predict them. I like when they knock over Stonehenge, but that's really the only thing memoriable.

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Christopher J

@chrisjohnson Aug 28

dang i remember this being alot funnier than it was but still a good watch

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Michael B

@BlackCloud13 Aug 7

Lacks all the charm of its predecessors. Frivels away the history of the classic franchise on cheap, predictable plot points strung together like separate bits. Now I know why I never saw it anywhere before I sought it out. Thoroughly unfunny. A real dud.

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Amy Heckerling

Director

Chevy Chase

Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.

Beverly D'Angelo

Ellen Griswold

Dana Hill

Audrey Griswold

Jason Lively

Russell 'Rusty' Griswold

Eric Idle

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Synopsis

After winning a European vacation on a game show, Clark Griswold convinces his reluctant family to accompany him. His wife, Ellen, is excited, but daughter Audrey is reluctant to leave her boyfriend behind, while teen son Rusty dreams of meeting girls. After arriving in London, the clan encounters one disaster after another as they travel through France, Germany and Italy, while Clark's attempts to cheer everyone up make things worse.

Director: Amy Heckerling
Producer: Matty Simmons
Screenwriter: John Hughes, Robert Klane
Distributor: Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 26, 1985, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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