Customer Reviews

The Great Outdoors (Widescreen)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

while i don't think this is the best John Candy movie made,it is still
pretty good.i guess it's considered a classic by now,being over 20
years old,and i think it deserves that status.it certainly has its
funny moments.and John Candy is just so likable,how could you not like
him?Dan Akroyd is also in the movie and he does good in his role.it's a
quality family movie,but there is a bit of mild language and implied
sexual innuendo.still,i don't think it's anything the whole family
couldn't watch,except maybe really young kids.there is a lot of
improvisation going on in this movie,which i really liked.the only
negative thing i can say about this movie is that it takes a bit of
time to get going.other than that that,it's a pretty good offering.
3.5/5

We watch this movie at least once per summer while at the lake in Wisconsin. There's nothing like it to make the entire family crack up laughing with nearly every scene. This movie is as much a part of our family summer vacation as the stay in the Northwoods alone.

You can't go wrong with this classic movie, The Great Outdoors.

You pretty much know that any film featuring both John Candy and Dan Aykroyd is going to generate some laughs, making The Great Outdoors a pretty safe bet for anyone in the mood for a little comedy - and comedy is basically all you should expect here (any film that supplies subtitles for raccoon conversations isn't really trying to express anything meaningful), despite the fact that John Hughes wrote the script. For once, Hughes' involvement does more harm than good. While The Great Outdoors is certainly a good movie, it's not a very good John Hughes movie. Of course, it's hard to follow 80s classics like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, but Hughes' heart just didn't seem to be in this one. This is best demonstrated by the teenaged romance part of the story, which stumbles from the start and really goes nowhere at all. When you come right down to it, there just isn't any real depth to any of the characters in this film - and that's just not something you expect to get from John Hughes.

All Chet Ripley (John Candy) wanted was a nice family vacation in the country, a week to relax with his wife and bond with his two boys, especially the older one (frankly, I'm not really sure why the younger son was even in the movie). What he got was a "surprise" in the form of his brother-in-law Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) and his rather strange family (with Annette Bening playing Mrs. Craig) turning up out of the blue to vacation right along with him. You can't just tell family to get out, though, even if that family includes an arrogant, rich, know-it-all like Roman. Chet does his best to grin and bear it, but you know it's just a matter of time before he loses it. When the inevitable does happen, it triggers a series of important events that re-draw some of the main characters, even giving Roman a heretofore unsuspected (albeit rather narrow) depth. Despite this, and a strangely insignificant summer romance between Buck (Chris Young) and a local girl (Lucy Deakins), The Great Outdoors really just plays for laughs and nothing else. Some of the more memorable scenes include Chet's wild water ski ride and, of course, the battle pitting Chet and Roman against a bat. You'll definitely laugh at several different moments, but the film never really elevates itself to the side-splitting plateau of comic genius. In many ways, this was a pretty safe comedy - it doesn't break any new ground, but it's a really comfortable fit. That would be okay for many a filmmaker, but The Great Outdoors just doesn't live up to John Hughes' usually higher standards.

I adore "The Great Outdoors". This is one of my favorite John Candy movies of all time. Yeah it is no Shakespeare but I wouldn't have it any other way. Dan Ackroyd plays the obnoxious brother-in-law who crashes John Candy's family vacation up in the woods at a cozy little resort. Dan brings his neglected wife played by Annette Benning and their identical twin daughters who are bit on the scary side. The results is a non-stop laugh riot. No many how many times I have watched this film, I still find myself laughing uncontrollably, especially when the raccoons comes out at night to raid the trash cans. I loved it when the young raccoon is told what hot dogs are made of. Anyone familiar with Doug Seuss's bears would know that this is one of the films that the late Bart the Bear made as the bald-headed bear. I loved the final interaction between John Candy's character and the bald-headed bear. It is one of the funniest scenes in the film, next to the water-skiing scene. One of the classic moments in the film is when the entire family goes out to dinner and John Candy decides to order the ol' 96er (this enormous chunk of beef). I personally love "The Great Outdoors". It remains one of my favorite movies from the '80s. It is pure physical comedy. There are a lot worse films than this if you ask me, namely Carrot Top's lone film "Chairman of the Board".

This is a pretty good John Candy/Dan Aykroyd movie. While it's not as good as Uncle Buck or Planes, Trains & Automobiles, it's not bad at all. It's a great Summer/Family Comedy. It doesn't make me laugh and laugh, it's just fun to watch. I'll never stop liking it.

Saturday Night Live alum Dan Aykroyd and his fellow Canadian,the late great John Candy star in this fun-filled adventure about a vacation intruded by a brother. Aykroyd and Candy are brothers in the film. The intruder is Candy. He shows up without advance notice at his brother's family's lakeside retreat. A few years later,a similar scenario would be seen in the Bill Murray-Richard Dreyfuss film WHAT ABOUT BOB?.

John Candy is on vacation and his rich brother Dan Ackroyd comes to visit and they get into it.The critics hate it but it is good entertainment with the Canoe and one of the best scenes ever the ole 96er when candy eats a 96oz Steak.
Story 8 Acting 10 Directing 8 Action 10 Entertainment 10
Overall=46/50 wich is a 4.5 star movie since it is under rated
I will give it a 4 star rating good job Dan and John

This is one of the best comedys I have ever seen, ever!!!
Its a laugh out loud comedy which is timeless!!!

I remember "The Great Outdoors" being downright hilarious when I first saw this on the big screen in 1988/89. Candy & Aykroyd were, dare I say, in their 'prime'. Over the years tho, it's lost some of it's luster when viewed on the smaller box. While there's no comparison to Candy's "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", or "Uncle Buck" (or even Aykroyd's "The Blues Brothers" or "Trading Places") this movie has an equally important spot on your DVD library shelf. In "The Great Outdoors", John Candy plays the caring good guy family man with a heart, named Chet. His obnoxious brother Roman (played to a tee by Dan Aykroyd) comes to the log cabin unannounced with his snob of a wife Kate (played by then newcomer Annette Bening). When Chet's realization of his nice quiet vacation in the outdoors is going to be ruined by his arrogant brother... he trys desperately to make the best of the situation. Some dull moments are interlaced here with some extremely funny scenes... including some witty raccoons; Chet unintentionally going waterskiing; a flying bat inside the log cabin; a big bald bear; and probably the best moment - Chet eating the "Big 96'er". Outside of the original movie trailer, this DVD comes with no extras what-so-ever. Perhaps this was a sign that this typical 80's comedy was destined for the bargain rack. Glad this is finally out on DVD in the year 2004... what took Universal Studios so long?

"The Great Outdoors" is one of those movies that you love to sit down with your family and watch over and over again, the type of movie that isn't necessarily a great film, but is lifted out of mediocrity by a terrific cast and lively joy surrounding it that is undeniably there. There isn't really anything that makes it worth watching, other than the funny comic cast that lends it a certain familiarity. It's not an underrated great comedy like "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but rather an underrated mediocre comedy, one that you can watch over and over, almost as a tradition, and never get tired of, but furthermore, never fully understand its charm.

The film stars John Candy as Chet, a down-to-earth kinda guy who wants to give his family (a wife and two sons) a great vacation in the great outdoors, away from civilization and modern conveniences. Chet's family does not necessarily appreciate what he is doing for them but rather the thought, and so they go along with the oblivious Chet out into the middle of nowhere, staying in a log cabin infested by who-knows-what.

Chet is happy all the way up until they arrive at their cabin, because upon arrival they are greeted by Chet's glob of a brother, Roman (Dan Aykroyd), who shows up unannounced with his snobby wife (Annette Bening) and strange little twin girls (who serve to be a damper on the film, as they are almost so creepy it hurts the movie.)

Chet bites his tongue and watches Roman squirm his way into the cabin. As in most films like these, Chet seems to be the only one who notices how annoying Roman is. Remember "What About Bob," when Dr. Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) seemed to be the only one who resented an oddball patient named Bob (Bill Murray)? It's a bit like this with Chet and Roman. Chet's family doesn't seem to mind Roman, but Chet does. And in resenting Roman, Chet realizes he is being selfish, so he subconsciously, unknowingly pretends his family is bothered by Roman, which justifies him hating Roman and wanting him to leave. I bet you never thought I'd start reviewing this on a psychological level, eh? I guess you got more than you bargained for.

The script was written by John Hughes, who directed my favorite comedy of all time, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), which also starred Candy. Hughes and Candy had a long-time collaboration - Hughes was even writing another script for Candy when John passed away in 1994. But what can be said about Hughes is that he tends to create real characters in realistic situations, with a clear sense of focus on what he wants to get across. It is only in recent years his scripts have been becoming more and more muddled ("Home Alone 3," "101 Dalmations"), and this may very well be because the times have passed on, yet John Hughes is still, in a way, living in the 80s, the decade that made him one of the most successful filmmakers within a short period of time. (His films such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club" are icons of the eighties, and still have adamant fans to this day.)

A film like "The Great Outdoors" is mediocre at best, and I don't think anyone will say otherwise. Sure, there are a few funny scenes like when Chet goes on an accidental waterskiing trip, or when Chet and Roman try to rid their house of a bat, only to enter into the cabin wearing a crazy assortment of items. These are the type of cheap comical gags that would sink a normal film, but watching John Candy and Dan Aykroyd go through the motions is something more. Especially Candy, God rest his soul, who could and continues to always make me laugh.

I think that there's a certain charm about "The Great Outdoors," one that invites the viewer, lets the viewer know what they're in for, but entertains the viewer during the course of the film. The first time I saw "The Great Outdoors" I shrugged it off as another typical 80s film - which it is, in a way - but I found myself watching it every time it appeared on television since. I even tape recorded it last year and have since watched many of the funny parts over and over. This is an excrutiatingly mediocre comedy, one that goes through all the motions, but at the same time has a strange, undeniable charm about it that entices the viewer. It may not be a great comedy, "technically," but I guarantee it will be one that you'll come back to every once and a while, just for familiarity's sake.