Archive FM

Mary Versus the Movies

Episode 111 - National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Broadcast on:
25 Aug 2023

Everyone is shocked that Mary hasn't seen this comedy classic about Clark Griswold and his family's ill-fated trip across America to visit Wally World. From the suburbs of Chicago to the Kansas plains, the mountains of Colorado to the deserts of Arizona, and finally a sunny California full of disappointment, this turns out to be a very familiar trip for Mary and Dennis, who have a long history of very similar road trips with very similar disasters. 

Do these National Lampoon movies have a weird mean streak? Is Chevy Chase too unlikeable and smug? Is all of this overcome by being really, really funny? Pretty much.

Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, John Candy, and Christine Brinkley. Directed by Harold Raimis and written by John Hughes.