The Great Outdoors (1988)

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John Candy and Dan Aykroyd costar as prickly brothers-in-law who try their best to get along after Aykroyd unceremoniously crashes Candy’s planned family vacation. The Great Outdoors was spawned from the ever-prolific pen of John Hughes, coming off a string of hits that included Planes Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, and The Breakfast Club. (The man was truly a force to be reckoned with in the ’80s.) But Hughes passed the directing duties to frequent collaborator Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful).

For some reason, Deutch seems barely able to wrangle the elements and The Great Outdoors comes off lacking in the same high level of skilled execution seen in other Hughes and Deutch movies. It feels haphazardly edited much of the time. One gets the impression that some scenes are the result of uninspired improvisation. A particular music cue is played over every single scene between Candy’s teenaged son (Chris Young) and a potential girlfriend (The Boy Who Could Fly‘s Lucy Deakins) that it becomes unintentionally comical. And the two terribly-cast little girls playing Aykroyd’s twin daughters are constantly doing their best not to look in the camera lens or laugh uncomfortably while the adult cast is trying to do their jobs. Was The Great Outdoors rushed into production, or not given enough time to congeal?

Fortunately, the considerable charm of John Candy saves the film enough to give it a mild recommendation. While Aykroyd delivers on his well-established ability to play obnoxious to the hilt, it’s Candy who brings alternating warmth and humor to The Great Outdoors. The supporting cast, including an underutilized Annette Bening rarely offer up anything comparable. The supporting player with the most impact is Britt Leach, playing a stuttering man whose been hit by lightning s-s-s-s-six times. An impactful third act also helps save the movie, especially when the families square off against a large, bald bear. (The bear was played by Bart, a Kodiak trained for film who also appeared in The Edge, The Bear, and Legends of the Fall.)

With Robert Prosky, Stephanie Faracy, and an early score from Thomas Newman.

Also: Is it just me, or does this movie feel like it was originally written to be a National Lampoon’s Vacation sequel with Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid playing the brothers-in-law?