The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors (1988)

Director: Howard Deutch

Writer: John Hughes

Cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Benning, Chris Young, Ian Michael Giatti, Hilary Gordon, Rebecca Gordon, Robert Prosky, Lucy Deakins

Synopsis:

Family man Chet Ripley (Candy) decides to take his family on holiday to a cabin in the same north woods community he used to go to with his father. Chet's hoping to spend some quality time with his sons Buck (Young) and Ben (Giatti) to try and reconnect away from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. However, Chet's peaceful getaway is interrupted when his rich, obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman (Aykroyd) and his family decide to crash the party. Chet must navigate his annoying in-laws and a series of misfortunes, including hungry leeches, mischievous raccoons, and an angry bear from his past, to enjoy his much-needed vacation. Hilarity ensues.

First Impressions:

I don't think I saw this in theaters, but I definitely saw it on home video shortly after its release. It was full of 80s comedy hijinks that appealed to my 12-year old sensibilities. It was far from my favorite comedy of the era, but it was certainly enjoyable. It's been at least 30 years since I last saw this movie, and I recently picked it up to add more 80s comedies to my collection. I'm excited to see if the comedy holds up today. Let's jump in. 

Story/Direction: 

"Hotdogs! You know what they make those things out of, Chet? You know? Lips and assholes!"

Much like the rest of its comedy brethren of the decade, The Great Outdoors is not exactly heavy on story. Any plot really exists only to connect one humorous situation to the next. That still rings true with most comedies, even today, and that's okay. However, the filmmakers were definitely going for an Odd Couple vibe with Chet as a down-to-earth family man contrasting with Roman, the ambitious know-it-all brother-in-law. Much of the film's comedy was meant to stem from this dichotomy, as it's a well-worn trope. 

As I've written before, the danger in watching an older comedy is the possibility that the jokes might not go over as well in the modern era as they might have when the film was released. I have to say that there wasn't anything particularly egregious in The Great Outdoors that would offend a modern moviegoer. However, I found the jokes didn't really land with me on this most recent viewing. Perhaps it's because my taste in comedy has grown more sophisticated since I was 12, although I doubt it. After all, I still think farts are hilarious. In this case, I will chalk it up to the surprise factor. With many comedies, especially ones with many slapstick gags like this one, the laughs come because something unexpected happens. Obviously, the viewer's familiarity with subsequent viewings will diminish the original amusement felt. Sometimes, familiarity doesn't tarnish my enjoyment of the comedy if the gags are strong enough (such as in Throw Momma From the Train or Ferris Bueller's Day Off). However, in the case of The Great Outdoors, I didn't find the jokes strong enough to overcome my expectations of what was coming.

My other major complaint about the story was the tacked-on teen romance sub-plot with Chet's oldest son, Buck. Of course, it was the 80s, and movie studios were desperate to bring those valuable teenage viewers, but the storyline didn't really go anywhere. It really didn't add anything to the story apart from the tedious teenage drama that no one over 16 cares about.

 Acting/Characters:

For all my complaints about the film's story, the casting was spot on. Two absolute comedic legends, John Candy and Dan Aykroyd filled the main roles. Chet Ripley was a role that was familiar to John Candy at this point in his career as he'd played a similar role a few years earlier in Summer Rental. He's an over-worked middle-class guy just trying to enjoy some downtime with his family and reconnect. The thing I love about Candy is that he was versatile as a comedic actor. He could play the loving family men like Chet and could just as easily shift to playing an obnoxious blowhard like Del Griffith in Planes, Trains & Automobiles or a bumbling idiot like Harry Crumb in Who is Harry Crumb? 

Likewise, Dan Aykroyd is also extremely versatile as a comedic actor who is equally effective at playing an obnoxious turd like Roman Craig or someone more subdued like Ray Stanz in Ghostbusters. The pair had great chemistry on screen, and while I didn't find the humor of the film that funny anymore, it's still a joy to watch these two masters bounce off of each other. I think Aykroyd's best moment in the movie actually comes during the end credits as he performs an insane dance routine set to The Elwood Blues Revue's Land of a Thousand Dances. Honestly, if they ever decided to erect a Mount Rushmore of Canadian comedy (which is a fantastic idea!), both John Candy and Dan Aykroyd would need to be included.

Action:

Being a comedy, there isn't really any action in The Great Outdoors unless you count slapstick, which I'm gonna cause it's my blog. There's a fair amount of slapstick in the film, mostly involving Candy because I guess it's funny watching a fat guy fall down (speaking as a fat guy, this is totally true). There are some pretty satisfying sequences in the film, such as Chet's unfortunate water-skiing experience or Chet's attempts to eat a 96 oz. steak. The best sequence, though, and the one I still guffawed at, was the "balding" of an angry bear at the film's climax. While I'm not going to devote an entire section to visual effects, I will note that it was pretty amazing that the filmmakers managed to attach a bare ass prosthetic to a Kodiak bear.

Score/Soundtrack:

Most of the music used in the film is from the soundtrack, which uses songs from both the 50s and the 80s, which are just to fill in the silence (save for the previously mentioned dance during the end credits). However, there is some original music composed by Thomas Newman that I actually enjoyed. In particular, I liked the music accompanying the raccoons in their nightly attempts to raid Chet's garbage cans, which I am humming as I type this.

Final Verdict:

I didn't find the film as funny this time around, but I think it's still a solid option for a family movie night. There really isn't anything inappropriate, and it's pretty inoffensive even to a modern audience. So, if you're looking for a silly movie to watch with your kids, you may wanna give this one a try.