The Writer's Poke

When you grew up, did you and your parents share outfits or wear the same brands/clothing styles? In National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Rusty opens the film in a Pink Izod. Clark will later wear a Pink Izod, too. So will Ellen, but it’s oversized so I’m guessing it’s Clark’s. Rusty also wears a yellow and a green Izod. Clark wears a light purple, a light blue, and a dark red Izod. Clark and Ellen also have Izod rain jackets. His is blue and hers is tan. Yes, I found myself distracted by that, although it's not a big deal. I would rather one character wear the Izod, but maybe 1983 was the year everyone wore the allegator gimmick.  I don't think this movie is very strong, but it is iconic, and a lot of my friends like it and quote it from time to time. In all honestly, I don't think I've ever actually watched it, and I wanted to finally give it a fair viewing. Additionally, I've been watching the films of John Hughes, and his Chicago-based presentation interests me. ...

Yes, as other reviewers have said, it does have its moments, and sure, if you were reviewing individual segments, maybe you would rate some of them better than other. Unfortunately, this isn't SCTV, and the movie has to be rated as a unified whole. In some respects, Going Berserk is a loose parody of The Manchurian Candidate (1963). John (John Candy) is a fat chauffer driver who is preparing to marry the Congressman's daughter, Nancy (Alley Mills). The Congressman has a developed an enemy in the Cult Leader Rev. Sun Yi Day (Richard Libertini). Day and his group plan to hypnotize John and have him kill the Congressmen at the wedding ceremony. Along the way, the movie happens. Much of it has little to do with the plot I've just described. Some of it is funny; much of it is weird. This is Candy's first starring role in a movie. I read that he had zero acting training prior to this movie, but his acting isn't the issue here. He's a fine comedic actor. The problem is...

Writer and Executive Producer: John Hughes (but not Director for this one). It's funny that Hughes uses his real name for his "top-tier" stuff, but uses the pen name, Edmond Dantes, for stuff he wrote that he doesn't want to be connected with. Why didn't he use Dantes for this screenplay? Seems like a good simple premise. Put John Candy and his family and the uninvited guests, Dan Akroyd and his family, in the Great Northern Forests, and see what happens. Chet (Candy) plays a kind of E.B. White "father." He remembers going up North as a kid, and he wants to give his kid the same fond memories he had. Roman (Akroyd) doesn't have a love of nature. He looks out at the great expanse of undeveloped land, and he sees dollars signs -- tree mills, mining, and places to dump toxic waste. As you would expect, there's comedic conflict between the two families, and then they come together and discover the real meaning of family. Buck (Chris Young) also gets ...

Another 80s movie I've somehow never watched until now. As far as John Candy's body of work goes, this is one of the films he's still better remembered for. This is also a John Hughes film. Since I'm a fan of both men, I had to go ahead and finally watch it, hoping I would be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps the "breakout star" of the film is Macaulay Culkin as 6-year-old Miles. Of the three kids, 15-year-old Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly) receives most of the story's focus, but I love the "Dragnet" sequence when Miles is asking Buck (Candy) questions about his life (with Miles record for number of consecutive questions asked being 38). In a way, this movie is "Home Alone"-lite, as the parents need to leave home quickly for the wife's dad's death. Tell me why, though, in all these various movies about parents going away (this one, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter Is Dead, etc.), once they leave the house to do whatever, they never contac...

This is a John Hughes film. I never really think about it as such, because Steve Martin and John Candy are front in center in my mind. I should mention that this movie utilizes micro-scenes from known actors very well. By that, I mean, the movie opens with Kevin Bacon and Steve Martin (Neale) racing for the same New York taxi. Bacon is only in the movie for that scene, maybe three minutes tops, but it's a cool scene, and it was nice that Bacon played the part. It seems to add to the movie. Even shorter, Ben Stein plays an airline counter agent. He has one line and is in the movie for less that 20 seconds. But you notice him. The use of "micro-scene performances" by known actors like Bacon and Stein interests me, because sometimes they seem "important" and "useful" when the parts are being played by someone we recognize. Other times, you might notice someone in a movie with a bit part, and you are left wondering, "Why did they bother to agree to be...