The Great Outdoors (1988)

Directed by Howard Deutch

Released June 17th, 1988

Written by John Hughes

Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB

"A Chicago man's hope for a peaceful family vacation in the woods is shattered when the annoying in-laws drop in."

Alright, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie! I was a little worried at first because of some of the people who had recommended this movie to me. Let's just say we normally have different definitions of funny. But this movie really did come through! It was entertaining, the jokes weren't super cheesy, and it had two of my favorite Johns.

What also surprised me was the fact that this movie was written by my hero John Hughes (John #1). I had no idea, but it also has me thinking. John Hughes always directed his own movies, so the fact that he didn't direct this movie makes me question as to why. So the first thing that I found is that this wasn't the first time Hughes and Deutch worked together. Apparently, Hughes wrote Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful while Deutch directed both. So The Great Outdoors was the final movie they did together. I also found out that John Hughes wanted to direct this film, but he had scheduling conflicts that didn't allow him to (all of this courtesy of IMDB). Turns out, She's Having a Baby which was directed by Hughes, came out in the same year, so it makes sense that he would have scheduling conflicts with The Great Outdoors.

To be fair, I am kind of glad that John Hughes didn't direct this film. Not because it was bad or anything, but it wouldn't have fit in with the rest of his films. Hughes is and will always be the King of teen movies, no one will be able to take that away from him. The Great Outdoors isn't a teen movie. It is about the adults and there really are only two teens in the movie which aren't the focal point. So while the movie probably would have done better with critics if Hughes directed it (no offense to Deutch) I am kind of glad that he only wrote the movie.

One other note, was anyone else surprised that for once John Candy wasn't the goof-off/weirdo/annoying character in the movie for once? Now this isn't me bashing John Candy, he is one of my favorite comedians (John #2), but he is pigeonholed in most of his films. He is normally the annoying goofy character who gets on peoples' nerves. Examples: Uncle Buck, Spaceballs, and Plains, Trains, and Automobiles. So compared to those roles, this was a more serious role for Candy and I liked it! He still was his funny self, but it was more reserved. I personally loved his performance in this movie and it was one of the main reasons I enjoyed this movie so much. 

John Hughes and John Candy, how could you go wrong?

The person who did drive me crazy was Dan Aykroyd. Geez! That man is a piece of work. Like this scene for example. 

First of all, who invites themselves on their in-law's family vacation without telling them? But most importantly, WHO FILMS THEIR RELATIVES GETTING FREAKY AND LET'S THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN WATCH!? Who does that? That is so wrong on so many levels! I mean Aykroyd clearly played his role very well, because he is suppose to be a creepy/inappropriate/rude person, but man I wanted to punch this guy in the face.

One aspect of this movie that I thought was funny, was how they were mimicking/making fun of characters from another movie. The twins clearly were a trope to the movie The Shinning, which came out in 1980. The way they stand, how they are identical twins, holding hands in the same way, and are wearing the same outfit. Plus add in the creepy music that they play when the twins are introduced. It is obvious that they are playing off of The Shinning.

Can we also enjoy how they went so far as to give the raccoons subtitles? It would be one thing to continue to have the raccoons show up and mess with the family. But it is the commentary going along with the raccoons that really make those scenes comical. It also makes it worth keeping those scenes in the movie even thought they don't do much with driving the storyline. 

One thing that I didn't really enjoy in this movie, though, was the storyline with Cammie. It was unnecessary and it was rushed. They literally bumped into each other once, had a five minute conversation, and then all of a sudden are boyfriend and girlfriend worrying about never seeing each other again. They never even went on more than one date. I see the point Hughes and Deutch were trying to make. Giving the movie another dimension instead of just focusing on Chet and Roman, but it wasn't done while. Maybe if they gave them more screen time and it wasn't as rushed I might not have minded it. As it stands though, Cammie doesn't even need to be in the movie at all. 

Okay, just watch this scene for a second.

First of all, having a "bear dump" just seems like a bad idea to begin with. You are just asking to be attacked by a bear or have him follow you back to the campsite for more food. But, Chet...you literally put food on your car for the bear. What did you think was going to happen? Of course he is going to chill up there and wait for more food to come because that is the lucky spot where food was before. *Shake my head.

Last thing, I feel like families need to take vacations like these more often. Too often, now, it is about the expensive European trips, the cruises, or the fancy theme parks (yes, Disneyland that means you). But I feel like people lose sight in the tradition, the family time, and the relaxation of it all. Going camping, or to a camp like resort such as in Dirty Dancing where you are doing activities all the time, vacations where you are more worried about spending time together than how many sites you can see or rides you can go on. I feel like people spend more money to get less together time on vacations these days. Or they pay for experiences instead of finding and creating memories on their own. Now don't get me wrong, you can have family time on those other vacations, but it is different. I don't know, I guess part of it too is people are so absorbed in technology that they forget about playing outside, doing crafts, going on nature walks, etc. Everything is so technology driven or involved that people kind of forget to stop and smell the roses every once-in-a-while. But that's just my opinion. Also should be fair to note that I have never been camping and I hate the outdoors, so this seems kind of like a hypocritical opinion. But I think you understand the point I am getting at. Well at least I hope you do.

Roman: "How come Chet's kids look at him like he's Zeus and ours look at me like I'm a rack of yard tools at Sears? Why can't they connect with me?"

Kate: "Well, maybe if you spent less time at work and more time with us, it would..."

Roman: "Put a cork in it honey, I'm on the phone!"