National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)

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Chevy Chase and Bevery D’Angelo return as the Griswolds from the first Vacation movie, this time dragging the kids (recast Jason Lively and Dana Hill) on a whirlwind European tour. Perhaps due to intense acrimony between Chase and director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times and Ridgemont High), or perhaps due to a simply less funny script co-written by Robert Klane (Weekend at Bernie’s), European Vacation earns the ‘inferior sequel’ label all too easily.

The film starts out moderately funny, peaking with a great sequence in which Chase crashes into a number of overly-polite Brits. Monty Python’s Michael Palin has the movie’s best scene as a bicyclist trying to shrug off a spraying artery after Chase mows him over. Things are less funny in France, Germany, and Italy, especially when the third act feels obliged to introduced a robbery/kidnapping subplot. You can see most of the gags coming a mile away, with few genuine surprises breathing life into the movie. With cameos by John Astin and Paul Bartel.