As Grandes Férias

"The Great Outdoors" is what anyone would expect of a John Candy movie: completely goofy, but funny nonetheless. He plays Chet Ripley, taking his family on vacation in the wilderness. Unfortunately, Chet's unpleasant brother-in-law Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) is also there, and he just has to make everything miserable for Chet. In some ways, this movie seems to be rehashing "Summer Rental", but with a different tone. My favorite parts were the raccoons, the bear, and The Old '96er (I don't recommend that scene for squeamish people). All in all, it just goes to show what the world lost when John Candy died. He was really great.

P.S.: Annette Bening, in her debut, plays Roman's wife Kate.

As a child of the eighties, its hard not to view this film thru the lens of nostalgia. John Candy is hilarious as the simple but decent family guy who wishes to take his family on a vacation to the great outdoors. His plans are rudely disrupted by his boorish brother in law, who crashes the family event and manages to disrupt all of Candy's plans. While there's nothing particularly stunning or insightful here, its fun and reminds me of days gone by. Although seen thru the eye of comedians, many of us can remember "disastrous" family vacations like this, with relatives that we sometimes couldn't stand and plans gone awry, but still forming some of our most fond memories. It is also somewhat bittersweet for me, as most of the beautiful and rustic locales in the film have disappeared during the intervening years, a loss I hadn't even noticed or thought about until I watched the film again. The film is very family friendly and, if you haven't seen it, definitely worth a viewing.

Two families go on vacation together in a Canadian log cabin.

This is an enjoyable comedy powered by the presence of John Candy and Dan Ackroyd.

I saw this many times as a child and recently as a forty-something. I don't think it's quite as good as I remember (as is often the case when you re-watch movies you enjoyed as a child) but the two stars still provide enough entertainment to make it work.

I think many people have family or friends they tolerate in small doses, and there is nothing quite like going on vacation together to remind you why this is the case. This is the central concept of 'The Great Outdoors' and the basis for so of much of the humour. Key to this is relationship of the main characters Chet and Roman, who are the respective patriarchs of each family, and about as opposite you can get in both values and personality.

Candy and Ackroyd are perfectly cast in the above roles. The script is not in the same league as other notable 80s comedies, but the performances of each elevate the material significantly. Ackroyd in particular lives and breathes the obnoxious, arrogant brother-in-law from hell and makes a potentially annoying creation hilariously funny. I think many people have a Roman in the family and might be able to empathise with the situation. Candy adds a likeable, laid back, charismatic presence and brings his natural, improvised banter to many scenes. He seems to have wonderful chemistry with everyone he shares the screen with.

Annette Benning and Stephanie Faracy make some reasonably good contributions to the humour, particularly the 'spin cycle' references and generally when they both stand by their husbands during the inevitable family bust-up.

Some of the gags are more visual. The waterskiing sequence is great fun, likewise the montage of holiday park activities, lightening bolts, and bear related shenanigans.

Not everything works for me. I find the repetitive gags involving raccoons mildly amusing at best and all the scenes involving the eldest son Buck's teen romance feel like a way to stretch out the movie to feature length. I remember as a child I used to fast forward these parts on my VHS and they haven't got better with age.

As ever, I believe comedy is very much in the eye of the beholder and it depends on your personal taste as to whether you find it funny. It is a typically 80s PG comedy that is family friendly but pushes the boundaries in terms of its adult themes. I am probably rating it higher than it deserves due to being a huge fan of both stars and the nostalgia associated with watching it as a child.

The eighties was a decade of film brilliance. Not Academy Awards maybe, or deeply intriguing movies but instead R-Rated, ridiculous, fun, pompous, films that were just not thought provoking but instead FUN!! What was R-Rated back then would be barely a PG today which also reflects the kind of society we have turned into. Enter "The Great OutDoors" with fellow Canadian comedians who knew comedy unlike no one has since.

Dan Akroyd and John Candy are just great. They aren't brilliant actors (although Dan has shown some promise in great movies such as The Arrow and My Girl) but instead they can get together to deliver laughs and they do. The Great Outdoors is the quintessential eighties film about a family on vacation. It's about the desire to succeed and BUY STUFF (an eighties must.) It's about who is the better man, and man vs nature and all that kind of stuff. More importantly it delivers the perfect blend of physical comedy AND one liners that actually made me laugh out loud. Akroyd and Candy play like a stand up comedy act and it works so well that you forget everyone else. They really don't add or take away from the story, you just forget anyone else is there...it doesn't really matter much. You're in this to see Chet and Roman battle it out mostly behind each other's backs. The cinematography is great in this movie as well. They used an actual lake although it was in California, not Wisconsin and it really helps the setting. You feel as though you're roughing it out right beside them. The best part is the climax with the bear, what a great scene. As predictable as you might think it is...it's just awesome. Candy is hilarious and sadly missed in future endeavours. Akroyd pulls off the pompous, greedy and loud mouthed lawyer type to a T and manages to not take himself too seriously. As with all eighties films they manage to toss in the someone is in trouble, everyone has to pull together and save them story ending but it works and this movie is without a doubt a classic, whether comedy or just film in general, it will always be remembered fondly. 8/10

Great grins movie! Strong script with a wonderful array of gags.Rent this one for the kids,then watch it yourself.See Lucy Deakins at her best!Scary tale as told by John Candy is so silly.This movie is hokey but you gotta love it!