Vegas Vacation

"This time the Griswolds are on a roll."

1997 1h 33m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 758

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Griswold family hits the road again for a typically ill-fated vacation, this time to the glitzy mecca of slots and showgirls—Las Vegas.

“This time the Griswolds are on a roll.”

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Cast

Chevy Chase
Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo
Ellen Griswold
Randy Quaid
Cousin Eddie
Ethan Embry
Rusty Griswold
Marisol Nichols
Audrey Griswold
Miriam Flynn
Cousin Catherine
Shae D'Lyn
Cousin Vicki
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Kessler
Writers: Elisa Bell, Bob Ducsay, Elisa Bell
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

29 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 Stephen Kessler, shot by William A. Fraker. 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 Joel McNeely. 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 Seth Flaum 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 Randy Quaid carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This time the Griswolds are on a roll.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0120434 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Kessler directs. William A. Fraker behind the camera. Joel McNeely scores. Seth Flaum 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

129 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 Stephen Kessler, shot by William A. Fraker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Joel McNeely. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Seth Flaum 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 Randy Quaid carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "This time the Griswolds are on a roll.".
8IMDB entry: tt0120434 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: William A. Fraker
Original score: Joel McNeely
Editing: Seth Flaum
Production design: David L. Snyder
Costume design: Carole Brown-James
Makeup / hair: Marvin G. Westmore
Stunt coordinator: Allan Graf
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $36,400,360
Return: 146% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Vegas Vacation (1997)

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

Stephen Kessler

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What people are saying

SierraKiloBravo2020-07-13
★ 6/10
My ten word review: Comedy that still holds up, even all these years later. Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/QzlQnWap2-g
r96sk2025-02-05
★ 7/10
<em>'Vegas Vacation'</em> is decent fare for this franchise, I think I just about enjoyed it. It does go through peaks and troughs, there are some uninteresting moments but by and large what I was viewing was passable entertainment. The Vegas setting and shenanigans keep it watchable, the dam scenes are good too. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are back yet again, as is Randy Quaid. I still don't really rate the latter's character all that much, pretty annoying in fact (and not in the intended sense); Chase's Clark is supposed to be <i>the</i> idiot here, so always feels odd to have an even bigger idiot. The more sentimental conclusion doesn't totally land, at least in terms of how it's portrayed. It felt watching that it was attempting to be super sensitive about family and love for each other, but these aren't the sort of movies where that fits. The Griswolds are dysfunctional, not lovable or relatable. Still, this is better than I thought it was going to be; especially with the disappearance of the National Lampoon name and the eight-year gap from the previous entry.