Film

National Lampoon's Vacation

Name: National Lampoon's Vacation
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Released: 1983
Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid

A gleeful monument to American vacation optimism curdling into chaos, this is Chevy Chase at his most earnestly deluded, dragging his family cross-country toward a theme park that may not even be open. Broad, quotable, and unapologetically silly, it's comfort-food slapstick for anyone who's ever had a holiday go sideways.

TMDb rating

7.1

If you liked this

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation1989

Same family, same escalating-disaster instincts, but swapped from highway breakdowns for holiday-lights meltdowns—arguably funnier, definitely more quotable, and just as willing to let Clark's optimism curdle into chaos.

But The road-trip anarchy gives way to a single location and a slower burn, so the momentum feels very different.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation poster

Planes, Trains and Automobiles1987no page yet

Steve Martin and John Candy turn a journey home into a masterclass of travel-induced despair and unlikely tenderness, with the same DNA of small indignities piling into full catastrophe.

But It trades Griswold-style slapstick for something warmer and sadder—less theme-park mania, more melancholy underneath the jokes.

Little Miss Sunshine2006

A broken-down van, a dysfunctional family, and a destination that barely matters—this indie hit finds the same comic gold in forced togetherness and low-grade disaster, just with more heart and less shouting.

But It's quieter and more character-driven than farce; if you want pratfalls and moose costumes, this won't deliver the volume.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday1953

Both are studies of a man's dogged pursuit of the 'perfect holiday' undone by the world's small indignities—Hulot is Clark's silent, elegant ancestor.

Tati's nearly wordless comedy watches an ordinary man's seaside holiday dissolve into a symphony of small physical catastrophes—sun loungers, tides, fellow tourists—decades before Clark Griswold made vacation disaster a genre.

But There's no dialogue-driven wit or plot momentum here, just patient visual gags; expect stillness and observation rather than escalating farce.

We're the Millers2013no page yet

A fake family road trip spirals into genuine chaos, echoing Vacation's love of strangers, cops, and roadside catastrophe, with raunchier jokes bolted onto the bickering.

But The comedy leans crude and drug-trade plotted rather than innocent-dad-vs-universe, so the tone is meaner and less family-friendly.

RV2006no page yet

Robin Williams plays a stressed dad forcing togetherness on a cross-country trip that goes wrong in almost exactly the ways you'd expect—broad, gadget-heavy, and unmistakably indebted to the Griswolds.

But It's softer and more sentimental by the end, trading anarchic edge for a tidier lesson about family bonding.

The Great Outdoors1988no page yet

John Candy anchors another lakeside-vacation-gone-wrong comedy from the same late-80s stable, with visiting relatives, wildlife mishaps, and gentle mockery of the American vacation dream.

But It's more sitcom-cosy than road-trip-frantic—the chaos stays mostly in one cabin rather than escalating across state lines.

Vacation2015no page yet

Ed Helms plays a grown-up Rusty repeating his father's Walley World pilgrimage, updated with modern gross-out gags and a knowing wink at the original's legacy.

But It leans harder into raunch and shock value than the original's more innocent slapstick, and the nostalgia can feel thin.

Due Date2010no page yet

Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis turn a forced cross-country trip into a two-man disaster engine, capturing the same rhythm of strangers making a bad situation worse.

But It swaps family sentiment for buddy-comedy friction, so the warmth that anchors Vacation's chaos is largely absent.

Tommy Boy1995no page yet

A road trip built on mismatched personalities, roadside disasters, and a doomed sense of purpose, carrying the same slobs-vs-competence energy that fuels Clark's misadventures.

But It's a buddy comedy rather than a family one, losing the domestic stakes that make Vacation's chaos sting a little more.

The Hills Have Eyes2006no page yet

It's literally the same skeleton—broken-down car, isolated stop, family forced to fend for itself—just with the comedy replaced by real menace.

Same premise, opposite genre—a family's road trip stalls in the desert and things go catastrophically wrong, except here catastrophe means survival horror instead of punchlines.

But It's genuinely brutal and violent, with none of the comic safety net; not for anyone wanting the Griswolds' harmless mayhem.

Sherman's March1986

Both are journeys that keep missing their intended destination while accidentally revealing exactly who the traveler is—Clark's manic optimism has a quieter cousin here.

Ross McElwee's rambling, funny, oddly personal documentary follows his own real cross-country meander—ostensibly retracing a Civil War general's route, actually a hapless search for love—turning travel chaos into something achingly sincere.

But It's slow, self-aware, and essayistic rather than plotted; anyone wanting jokes-a-minute will find this a very different rhythm.