National Lampoon's Vacation
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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National Lampoon's Vacation is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall. The film features numerous others, such as comedians John Candy and Imogene Coca, supermodel Christie Brinkley and future 30 Rock regular Jane Krakowski, in smaller roles.
The screenplay was written by John Hughes, based on his short story in National Lampoon magazine, "Vacation '58" (the screenplay changes the year to 1983). The original story is (reportedly) a fictionalized account of his own family's ill-fated trip to Disneyland (changed to "Walley World" for the film) when Hughes was a boy. The success of the movie helped launch his screenwriting career.
The film was a significant box office hit, earning over $61 million in the United States with an estimated budget of $15 million. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted National Lampoon's Vacation the 46th greatest comedy film of all time. It is widely considered to be the best film in National Lampoon's series of "Vacation" films, and continues to be a popular film and a staple on cable television channels. It also has a fresh rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
