VEGAS VACATION
A film review by Chuck Dowling
Copyright 1997 Chuck Dowling
Vegas Vacation (1997) *** out of ***** - Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Wayne Newton, Wallace Shawn, Sid Caesar. Written By: Elisa Bell. Directed By: Stephen Kessler. Running time: 92 minutes.
The 90's have been a rough decade for Chevy Chase. There was that awful talk show of his, along with a string of box office failures: "Nothing But Trouble" and "Man of the House" just to name two. Chevy desperately needed a hit with this latest film. He may not have one, but he certainly doesn't have another failure either.
I had low expectations for "Vegas Vacation". Aside from all of the failures from the last few years, there were things specifically about this film I was worried about. For one, the theatrical previews for it are awful. They really made this thing look potentially bad, considering the trend to put all of a comedy's best jokes into a trailer in order to get the public to the theater. Another reason was the lack of involvement from series writer John Hughes, even though he's seemingly gone insane, remaking cartoons and remaking Home Alone eight different ways.
Chase is back as accident-prone Clark Griswold, and Beverly D'Angelo, who just keeps getting better looking as the years go on, returns as his wife Ellen. Their kids Audrey and Rusty are along for the vacation as well, and are of course, played by different actors. A subtle joke is even made early on about these multiple casting choices. This time out, Clark has received a big bonus at work and he takes that family on vacation to Las Vegas.
Obviously, nothing goes right for Clark. He immediatly starts to lose all their money in the casino. Ellen gets involved with Wayne Newton (playing himself, naturally). Rusty manages a fake ID in order to gamble, and Audrey becomes a dancer. To make matters worse, Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) shows up to keep Clark company.
By now there are certain things we expect when we see a "Vacation" movie. Most notably we are expecting Chevy Chase to fall down and get into some weird physical misadventures. Well, the years are starting to catch up to Chevy, and there's really no physical comedy in the film. And the one extended scene which does attempt just that, a scene a Hoover Dam, fails miserably. So really all that's left is dialogue. Is it funny? Most of it is. There are some great lines, and Randy Quaid just about steals the film as idiot white trash Cousin Eddie.
They do play "Holiday Road", the series anthem which was absent from "Christmas Vacation". However, it's used during the scene which Christie Brinkley reprises her role from the original "Vacation", in another scene which fails miserably. The rest of the songs used are good and well-placed. Most are what you would expect for gambling montages: Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, etc.
The biggest laughs come about 60-70 minutes into things when Clark, after losing all the family's money, attempts to win it back using Eddie's money at a third rate casino. Games in the casino consist of stuff like "War", "Paper Scissors Rock", and "Pick a Number 1-10". If the whole thing could have been THAT funny...
"Vegas Vacation" is at the bottom of the list of the four films in the series, yet it's still an entertaining time at the movies. It just didn't seem like they were trying very hard as they were filming it. With just a little extra effort it could have really hit the jackpot. Maybe this film will create a little momentum for Chevy and then his next film could be great. One can only hope.
--Chuck Dowling
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