National Lampoon's Vacation (series)
| Directed by |
Harold Ramis (1) Amy Heckerling (2) Jeremiah Chechik (3) Stephen Kessler (4) John Francis Daley (5) Jonathan Goldstein (5) |
|---|---|
| Produced by |
Matty Simmons (1–3) John Hughes (3) Jerry Weintraub (4) David Dobkin (5) Chris Bender (5) |
| Screenplay by | John Hughes (1–3) Robert Klane (2) Elisa Bell (4) John Francis Daley (5) Jonathan Goldstein (5) |
| Based on | National Lampoon magazine |
| Starring |
Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo (See below) |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
|
Release date
|
1983 – 2015 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget |
Total (5 films): $113 million |
| Box office |
Total (5 films): $299,743,059 |
The National Lampoon's Vacation film series is a comedy film series initially based on John Hughes' short story "Vacation '58" that was originally published by National Lampoon magazine. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of seven films, two of which are not sponsored by National Lampoon. In recent years, the series has been the inspiration for various advertising campaigns featuring some of the original cast members. The series portrays the misadventures of the Griswold family, whose attempts to enjoy vacations and holidays are plagued with continual disasters and strangely embarrassing predicaments.
After the success of National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978, it was decided that another story from the National Lampoon magazine should be adapted into a film. One of such stories chosen for development was John Hughes' "Vacation '58" that was originally published in the September 1979 issue of National Lampoon. Hughes wrote the screenplay for the first Vacation film as "a fairly straight adaptation of the short story", with the exception of the ending that was rewritten and reshot after being "thoroughly despised by preview audiences". In addition to Hughes, Vacation involved the crew of many people connected to National Lampoon. The film was produced by Lampoon co-founder and Animal House producer, Matty Simmons, and directed by Lampoon alumnus and Animal House co-writer Harold Ramis.
Released on July 29, 1983, National Lampoon's Vacation proved to be a financial and critical success. Simmons went on to produce two sequels, with scripts by Hughes. While involved with the early stages of a third sequel, Vegas Vacation, Simmons resigned from production due to creative differences. As a result, the film was made without the "National Lampoon" title.
During an interview on the TBS series Dinner and a Movie, Beverly D'Angelo revealed that due to the success of Animal House, the original Vacation was envisioned as a raunchier R-rated comedy targeting young adults. This was principally the reason for nudity such as D'Angelo's shower scene and Chase's profanity-laced tirades and pool scene with Christie Brinkley. However, the movie's success with larger family audiences who identified with Chase's everyman-father character caught the filmmakers by surprise. As a result, subsequent sequels were toned down and family friendly, with PG-13 or PG ratings.
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