Foul Play

 Foul Play (1978)

Starring Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Brian Dennehy, and Dudley Moore

Directed by Colin Higgins

Written by Colin Higgins

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Movie Review - Vacation

Vacation (2015)

Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Beverly D'Angelo, Ron Livingston,  and Chevy Chase

Directed by Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley

***This film is currently available on HBO Now***

Although I can't remember for sure, my first foray into cinematic "almost nudity" may very well have been the original 1983 version of National Lampoon's Vacation.  I probably saw it for the first time several years after its release as an eight, nine, or ten year-old and that image of Christie Brinkley cruising down the highway -- and then later in the hotel pool -- never quite left my cinematic memory.  (Somehow, the possibility of potentially glimpsing Brinkley's breasts was inherently more invigorating to the young me than actually seeing those of Beverly D'Angelo in the film.)  Granted, I haven't seen the original Chevy Chase-starring film in probably close to a decade, but it held up alright upon my last viewing.  So when the 2015 "reboot"/sequel starts up with Lindsey Buckingham singing the iconic-to-me "Holiday Road," nostalgia immediately set in, and while Vacation can't really hold a candle to the original, there are plenty of laughs that make this one a better flick than I was expecting.

Teenage Rusty Griswold is now all grown up (and played by Ed Helms) living with a family of his own in the Midwest.  Rather than head to their typical cabin in Michigan for a summer vacation, Rusty decides to shake things up by taking his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and two kids James and Kevin (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) to the California amusement park staple Wally World -- the very destination coveted by Rusty's father Clark (Chevy Chase) in the 1983 original.  Along the way, chaos ensues -- multiple times -- as seems fitting for the Griswold clan.

I understand that many of the comedy sequences in Vacation overstay their welcome, but a lot of the jokes within those extended moments land successfully.  The success is due in part to the Griswold family quartet at the center of the action.  Helms, Applegate, Gisondo, and Stebbins all succeed at capturing the Griswold humor and heart that made the original so successful.  They hit the jokes they need to hit with gusto and provide a nice center for the action going on around them.

While writer-director duo Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley don't quite capture the same heart that Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo (who also make cameo appearances here) achieve in the first film, they at least provide Helms and Applegate a solid base.  I realize that my enjoyment of this isn't shared by the majority of critics, but even through its faults, Vacation proves to be decent, funny, and well acted.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

Starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy

Directed by Dan Aykroyd

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Right up front, I should say that I recognize Nothing But Trouble isn't very good (and my rating below will reflect that).  However, I can't help but enjoy it a tiny bit.  I haven't watched it in over a decade, but I remembered a certain fondness attached to it simply because it was like watching some weird funhouse/amusement park ride come to life when I viewed the flick on the local tv station on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  That fondness was still there, but it is now also tempered with the fact that the film itself simply isn't all that funny and, considering this is a comedy, that's a problem.

When financial advisor Chris Thorne (Chevy Chase) agrees to take his neighbor Diane (Demi Moore) to Atlantic City for her job, he does it only so he can attempt to form some type of romantic bond.  However, a slight detour forces the duo into the run-down New Jersey town of Valkenvania and when Chris runs a stop sign, he's picked up by the local sheriff (John Candy) and taken to the home of the incredibly elderly local judge, Alvin J.P. Valkenheiser (Dan Aykroyd).  Despite a simple traffic violation, the judge forces Chris and Diane to spend the night in his run-down, funhouse-type mansion.  Chris and Diane soon begin to discover the secret truth behind the judge and come to the realization that he will likely never allow them to leave the premises.

A mix of comedy and horror, the film doesn't contain too many laughs or any scary moments, but the actors themselves are what make this film more enjoyable than it should be.  Chevy Chase and Demi Moore aren't exactly striking it rich in the chemistry department, but they're pleasant enough and are actually the straight men to Dan Aykroyd who takes on the rather disgusting role of Alvin Valkenheiser with great gusto.  Despite coming from a fairly poor flick, it's a character that surprisingly came back to me immediately as soon as he came onscreen as if I'd just watched the film yesterday.

Still, anything positive is tempered by the fact that the movie isn't good.  Yes, I didn't mind watching Nothing But Trouble and being reminded of a childhood moviewatching experience, but it's not like I need to watch it once again in the near future.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Hot Tub Time Machine

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Starring John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Crispin Glover, and Chevy Chase

Directed by Steve Pink

Not once did I laugh while watching Hot Tub Time Machine.  Not once did I even let out a mild smirk.  Raunchy comedies that derive their humor from drugs and alcohol are always a tough sell for me and this one is no exception.  The only thing saving this from dipping as low as the awful The Other Guys is that all the actors here at least attempt to go for the comedy.  John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, and Rob Corddry as the quartet of guys who travel back to the eighties thanks to some crazy time warping hot tub tried their hardest to get me to laugh.  Unfortunately, I didn't.

And that's all I've got to say about this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Christmas Movie a Day #5
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Doris Roberts, and Randy Quaid
Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik

While it certainly has its flaws and it's not the best in the Vacation franchise (that honor goes to the original Vacation with its trip to Wally World), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is still a Christmas classic. I hadn't seen it in several years and it still holds up.

Clark Griswold (Chase) just wants to have a nice Christmas holiday with the family. Unfortunately, when both sets of in-laws arrive, havoc ensues. A simple premise with lots of nice gags. Let's be honest -- the scene where Clark goes to the lingerie counter and gets incredibly flustered by the buxom employee ("It's nipply out there...could it be any hooter in here?") is a classic comedy bit. I laugh every time I watch that scene...nothing wrong with some cleverly placed sexual innuendo.

The real problem with the movie is that it can't quite sustain itself over the 100 minute running time in terms of humor. It's not that it really lulls at any point, but there are just some bits that don't quite work as well as others...in particular the whole Julia Louis-Dreyfuss yuppie next-door neighbor scenes (they nearly all fall flat).

Still, there's something really "nice" about this movie...the focus on spending time with the family (however chaotic or dysfunctional it may be) is what resonates the most and it's not a bad thing to bring to the forefront during the hectic season.

The RyMickey Rating: B
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 9/10
The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)