The Great Outdoors (1988)

Directed by Howard Deutch. Starring John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, Chris Young, Lucy Deakins, Ian Giatti, Robert Prosky, Hilary & Rebecca Gordon. [PG]

Candy finds his family trip to a lakeside woodland lodge getting invaded by an obnoxious boor of a brother-in-law (Aykroyd) and his family. This in-name-only comedy was written by John Hughes, blatantly “inspired” by his earlier idea for National Lampoon’s Vacation, but without a single hearty laugh in sight (even chuckles are scant). Despite its title, almost none of the attempted jokes are derived from fish-out-of-water humor (these city slickers are hardly roughing it), the plodding pace does anything but sprint from one misfired gag after another, and it bogs down toward the end with a suspense-free mine shaft rescue and bear attack; if only sensible viewers weren’t rooting for the bear… It never bodes well when a movie’s “highlights” are scenes of subtitled raccoon chittering. Inauspicious film debut for Bening (as Aykroyd’s wife); within two years, she’d be starring in The Grifters, proving that first impressions aren’t always reliable.

29/100