National Lampoon's European Vacation features that All American family the Griswolds who have won themselves a European vacation. Not quite as lavish as what I got when I went to London a few years earlier, but then again I didn't win my trip on a game show called Pig In The Poke.Chevy Chase is back again as Dwight Griswold not exactly father of the year and not the guy I would send as a typical American. He means well, but cultural nuances just aren't his thing. Mrs. Griswold becomes a porn star when hubby leaves a video camera on and it records Chase and D'Angeo getting down and dirty and the video is stolen. Doesn't put her in a good frame of mind for the rest of the trip. By the way the sequence of how the camera is stolen is hilarious.Son Jason Lively wants to meet European girls and his style is cramped by dad's incessant sight seeing. And daughter Dana Hill just pines away for new boyfriend William Zabka and worries whether he's doing the same.Other funny sequences are with a French poodle on the Eiffel Tower and a whole long sequence of the family at a reunion in Germany with Chase's relations. They're not likely to be invited back. John Astin and Eric Idle make a couple of memorable short bits. European Vacation is good fun.For the entire family.

Despite the dumbing-down of nearly every aspect of the original movie, "European Vacation" looks and feels today like the stuff of mid-'80s cable. You know the kind; that movie you bump into on HBO on a Sunday afternoon, and stick with. That's not a feeling you get everyday, especially with a 30 year-old movie you've just recently seen for the first time.As a sequel, it's not a patch on the original; the kids are inconsistent, the family's unbelievably hapless and the jokes don't work. But it's a product of the Reagan '80s and there's some charm in that respect. It's good for a few chuckles, but for my money, an angry Dana Hill steals the show.5/10

The Griswold family(Chevy Chase & Beverly D' Angelo return, though their two kids are recast) find themselves on a dumb game show, which they somehow win, and the prize is a (you guessed it) European Vacation, but their enthusiasm at this win is deflated when the trip does not go the way they had planned...Stupid and crude sequel uses every cliché in the book, and falls flat on its face. Recasting of the children doesn't click; even use of comedy guest stars Eric Idle and John Astin doesn't work, and film just gets worse as it goes along; only succeeds in giving American tourists a bad name!

A Sequel to the very enjoyable Vacation, 'European Vacation' turns out to be a good sequel, offering slap-stick humor & non-sense all through. Don't look for logic in here!'European Vacation' Synopsis: The Griswalds win a vacation tour across Europe where the usual havoc ensues.'European Vacation' gets it right, as the humor works. Sure, it makes no sense, but again, slap-stick comedies are not meant to be taken seriously. Screenplay by John Hughes & Robert Klane is funny, offering aplenty of ridiculously moments in the goings-on. Amy Heckerling's Direction is ordinary. The Cinematography captures the exotic locales of Europe perfectly. Performance-Wise: Chevy Chase leads the film with a winning performance. He's in complete form. Beverly D'Angelo is spunky. Dana Hill & Jason Lively are okay. John Astin is passable. On the whole, 'European Vacation' does work.