Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the casino, along comes the Griswold family from the popular series of National Lampoon's Vacation movies, raising a ruckus in the now family-friendly gambling capitol of the world. Clark (Chevy Chase), the bumbling Griswold patriarch, gets into his usual quota of trouble--especially on a sightseeing trip to the Hoover Dam (where puns on the word "dam" come fast, furious, and idiotic). Meanwhile, Mrs.
An original Neil Simon screenplay makes Seems Like Old Times rise above what would otherwise be a forgettable comedy love triangle. Goldie Hawn (Private Benjamin) plays a good-hearted defense lawyer married to Ira, a politically ambitious district attorney played by Charles Grodin (Midnight Run). The craziness of their everyday lives becomes even more ridiculous when ex-husband Chevy Chase is framed for a bank robbery and seeks refuge with the woman he could never get over. Hawn hides the love of her life under her husband's nose as Chase tries to clear his name.
Europe won't suvive Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo and their Griswold offspring when a whirlwing trip across the continent wreaks hilarious havoc. After winning a tour package in a game show, the bickering Griswald family carve a trail of destruction through England (where they knock over Stonehenge), France, Germany, and Italy. Somehow Ellen (Bevery D'Angelo), the mom, gets kidnapped by gangsters, leading to a car chase that reunites the family, despite their differences.
Chevy Chase and Darryl Hannah star in, and John (Halloween) Carpenter directs a lighthearted adventure: a Wall Street analyst becomes invisible after a lab accident, leading to complications both comic and romantic. Chevy Chase plays a investment banker who gets exposed to fusion energy and becomes invisable. Daryl Hannah plays a TV/film maker who discovers what happened to him, and falls in love with him (the romance is actually honest, and not cliched). There are some good ILM effects work and the ending is not a tragic one - it's a comedy with a bit of heart.
The Griswolds have planned all year for a great summer vacation. From their suburban Chicago home, across America, to the wonders of the Walley World fun park in California, every step of the way has been carefully plotted. So what if they lose all their money when their new car gets wrecked. And it's not too bad when Cousin Eddie deposits sour Aunt Edna in their back seat for a lift to Phoenix. But what really keeps Clark's eyes on the road is a flirtation with a mysterious blonde in a red Ferrari.
This holiday season Clark Griswold vows his clan will enjoy "the most fun-filled family Christmas ever." Before you can sing "fa-la-la-la-lah," he decks the halls with howls of folly in the perennial favorite National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Seeing is believing. There are 25,000 lights on the roof. An exploding turkey on the dining room table. And a SWAT team taking siege outside. Yule love it!
This collection of satirical sketches about television was released in 1974, the heyday of obvious pop-culture humor along the lines Cheech and Chong. With Saturday Night Live still a few years away, Chevy Chase made an appearance here, and one can see the acute sensibility that would redefine television comedy in its early form. Some of the gags work well but most are pretty dispensable; some are a bit crude. On the plus side, it's nice to see Richard Belzer (from TV's Homicide) in his sharp-tongued, formative stage.
Chevy Chase is at his hilarious best in this suspense-packed comedy thriller based on Gregory McDonald's best-seller. Irwin Fletch, a.k.a. Fletch (Chase), is an investigative reporter who's constantly changing his identity. While working on a drug expose, Fletch attracts the attention of a strange businessman (Tim Matheson) who wants to be killed so his wife will inherit more insurance. The wily Fletch senses a scam, and soon he's up to his byline in frame-ups, murder, police corruption and forbidden romance. It'll be the story of the year, if he can stay alive to meet his deadlines!
Not short on murder, mayhem, or any other screwball '70s conventions, Foul Play is a wonderful vehicle for Goldie Hawn. She plays Gloria, a librarian "ready to take a chance again," who ends up the target of an assassination ring. Chevy Chase, fresh off of Saturday Night Live, does the closest thing to real acting he would ever achieve (okay, maybe Fletch) as Tony, the cop assigned to protect Gloria. Dudley Moore made an indelible impression on American audiences as Stanley Tibbets, a surprisingly kinky symphony conductor.
Greenskeeper Carl Spackler is about to start World War III - against a gopher. Pompous Judge Smails plays to win, but his nubile niece, Lacey Underall wants to score her own way. Playboy Ty Webb shoots perfect golf by becoming the ball. And country club loudmouth Al Czervik just doubled a $20,000 bet on a 10-foot putt. Insanity? No. Caddyshack. Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray and Ted Knight tee-off for a side-splitting round of fairway foolishness that does for golf what National Lampoon's Animal House did for fraternities and Police Academy did for law enforcement.
