National Lampoon's European Vacation

"For over two thousand years, Europe has survived many great disasters. Now for the real test. Chevy Chase & his family are coming from America!"

1985 1h 35m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 1,055

AdventureComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Griswolds win a vacation to Europe on a game show, and so pack their bags for the continent. They do their best to catch the flavor of Europe, but they just don't know how to be be good tourists. Besides, they have trouble taking holidays in countries where they CAN speak the language.

“For over two thousand years, Europe has survived many great disasters. Now for the real test. Chevy Chase & his family are coming from America!”

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Cast

Chevy Chase
Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo
Ellen Griswold
Dana Hill
Audrey Griswold
Jason Lively
Rusty Griswold
Victor Lanoux
Thief
Eric Idle
The Bike Rider
John Astin
Kent
Paul Bartel
Mr. Froeger

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Amy Heckerling
Writers: John Hughes, Robert Klane, John Hughes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "National Lampoon's Vacation Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Amy Heckerling, shot by Robert Paynter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Charles Fox. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Pembroke J. Herring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and Dana Hill carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "For over two thousand years, Europe has survived many great disasters. Now for the real test. Chevy Chase & his family are coming from America!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089670 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Amy Heckerling directs. Robert Paynter behind the camera. Charles Fox scores. Pembroke J. Herring cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "National Lampoon's Vacation Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Amy Heckerling, shot by Robert Paynter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Charles Fox. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Pembroke J. Herring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and Dana Hill carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "For over two thousand years, Europe has survived many great disasters. Now for the real test. Chevy Chase & his family are coming from America!".
8IMDB entry: tt0089670 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "london, england", "chaos", "game show", "vacation".
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Paynter
Original score: Charles Fox
Editing: Pembroke J. Herring
Production design: Robert Cartwright
Costume design: Graham Williams
Makeup / hair: Daphne Martin
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $49,364,621
Return: 290% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

Part of

National Lampoon's Vacation Collection

This collection of movies features everyone's favorite family, the Griswolds! It includes National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), and Vegas Vacation (1997).

Also by

Amy Heckerling

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2025-02-05
★ 6/10
<em>'National Lampoon’s European Vacation'</em> largely disappoints. The opening events in England are its peak, a couple of moments produced a few chuckles; even if they were stupid scenes, good stupid though. Once leaving British borders, I did find it much more dull. The writers sure dislike the French, eh? One of two creepy gags to do with the young daughter takes place with a Frenchman, the other with the American host <i>(was it a Family Feud spoof? Makes it slightly less weird)</i> - I was gonna say it has aged badly, but was it ever not an odd choice of joke? On the note of her, Audrey and Rusty are recast in this. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo do return and are as they were before. The most interesting bits in regards to the cast, for me anyway, are the appearances of Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle. The running gag with the latter actor is probably the best part of this movie, to be honest. These (first two, at least) films are at least short at 90 minutes and it is cool see to see them travel and film on location throughout all the different places shown. As for the nitty-gritty, though, I can't say I'd recommend this one. It misses a fun ending, which the original had.

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