I know it's predictable.
I know the jokes are bad.
I know the story is as cookie-cutter as most of Hollywoods late 80s effort.
...BUT...I still like it.
Why?
John Candy's in it!!
I don't know what it was with that man, but he's as charismatic and funny as ever in a movie that shouldn't really have worked at all.
I don't say you should go out and buy it, but stick with it if you catch it on TV.
...and do catch the joke with the talking raccoons after the end credits.
Rampage in this family comedy.
John Candy plays a humble family man who rents a lakeside cottage, hoping to share a few lasting memories with his kids in the same haunts he once explored as a younger man. Dan Aykroyd, his obnoxious brother-in-law, catches wind of the trip and tags along, inserting his own uninvited family to the festivities and spoiling the fun. It's perfect casting for each part: Candy as the humble and chummy father who good-naturedly eats a mountain of abuse to avoid offending his kin, Aykroyd as the dick-swinging Wall Street a-hole who isn't above taking advantage of a little insincere hospitality. John Hughes wrote the screenplay, narrowly passing on the chance to direct, and it smacks of his typical hallmarks. The humor is more than a touch over-the-top, the working class ethos front and center, the rampant sentimentality applied in extra-thick layers.
The good bits work extremely well, delivering laughs and lingering in the memory banks for decades (if you've seen this one, you'll never forget the bald bear, or the human lightning rod, or the ninety-six ounce steak dinner), but the plot is wobbly and there isn't much structure to tie everything together. It plays like a collection of themed skits, sharing a locale and a cast of characters, but rarely pressing toward a mutual conclusion. Were it not for the charismatic talents of the twin leads, The Great Outdoors might fall apart completely.
A pretty dumb movie that is made funnier just by having John Candy being John Candy. "The Big 96er", that's all I have to say.
The Great Outdoors is a fun little summer vacation comedy. John Hughes wrote the script for this movie and its inspired a lot of subpar family fare in the last 30 years. John Candy and Dan Aykroyd make a funny pair and it has enough good solid slapstick to keep my attention for 90 minutes.
Excellent movie IMO. John Candy and Dan Aykroyd. Need I say more. There is extra scenes that are rarely seen. Lots of "Suck My Wake" scenes. It was filmed up at Bass Lake in the California foothills near Fresno.
Shout by RedinaBlockedParent2016-06-26T22:20:51Z
One of my top favorite comedy movies of the 80s!