Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Donald Seymour
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Matho
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Mr-Fusion
Despite the dumbing-down of nearly every aspect of the original movie, "European Vacation" looks and feels today like the stuff of mid-'80s cable. You know the kind; that movie you bump into on HBO on a Sunday afternoon, and stick with. That's not a feeling you get everyday, especially with a 30 year-old movie you've just recently seen for the first time.As a sequel, it's not a patch on the original; the kids are inconsistent, the family's unbelievably hapless and the jokes don't work. But it's a product of the Reagan '80s and there's some charm in that respect. It's good for a few chuckles, but for my money, an angry Dana Hill steals the show.5/10
eric262003
In 1983, "National Lampoon's Vacation" was commercial success. The slapstick comical elements marked a positive outlook on the Griswolds as they became America's most beloved dysfunctional family. So instead of resting on their laurels for at least three or four years for a possible sequel, Warner Brothers decided to bring them back to the screen two years too early with "National Lampoon's European Vacation". After winning a game show hosted by John Astin ("Addams Family's Gomez Addams), the Griswolds win a trip to Europe as they embark on several misadventures as the explore the vast landscapes and the cultural settings for them. Sure like the other "Vacation" series, the plot is very thin, but the story itself was very inferior to its predecessor and the laughs were blatantly pedestrian and aside from that the characters also felt jilted as they went from the typical unlucky family to just plain old American idiots that give the wrong impression that Americans are ignorant to European culture. It didn't help that all the performers returned for the sequel, as Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen Griswold, however when Anthony Michael Hall was asked to reprise his Rusty Griswold character, he rebuffed and chose to do the 1980's cult classic "Weird Science". They didn't bother asking Dana Barron if she wants to reprise the Audrey Griswold character. They hired new performers for the kids. Jason Lively was not very good in his role as Rusty as he comes across as goofy, awkward and over-the-top with his perverted ways which comes off more stupid than comical. Dana Hill was a better replacement for Audrey than Dana Barron because there is more depth to her character in spite of repetitively lamenting over abandoning her new boyfriend, Jack (William Zabka). Chase goes a bit beyond the role of Clark here as the somewhat easily disgruntled father, here as Clark he comes across as a complete moron who can't do anything right and seems to cause destruction towards everything he touches and everyone around him feels his wrath. D'Angelo meanwhile stays persistent and didn't change that much in the movie as the level-headed matriarch trying to keep Sparky and the kids from insanity. Eric Idle as talented as he is for comedy has a very thankless role as an unfortunate Englishman that the Griswolds keep running over. It's never explained how he always runs into them in England, France and Italy, the irony itself is quite disturbing. What hurt this film badly was that comedy director the late Harold Ramis was too busy starring in "Ghostbusters" that he wasn't reached to direct. So instead Amy Heckerling who was still living on the coattails of the cult classic "Fast times at Ridgemont High" took over the director's chair. Heckerling's flair of comedy seems more concrete, which sadly takes over from the craziness from the over "Vacation" films. The fantasy sequences in the film work pretty good, however, I too felt it was inspired by other bodies of work Heckerling has done before or some other project she had in mind.I'm not playing the blame game entirely on Miss Heckerling as John Hughes returns to the scene as the scriptwriter, however I think there was some dispute that erupted as Mr. Hughes must have walked out at some point because there are a lot of surreal slapstick moments that doesn't feel like the John Hughes films we're all familiar with. The first "Vacation" film was funny because the situations faced by the Griswolds are something we could get the gist of. The humour delivered here comes off clichéd, and borderline tasteless. The silliness can be quite cringing with its racist overtones that the humour can be very disturbing at times. Are British people always this nice and genteel all the time? Are the French always dismissive and rude? Are Germans always aggressive and stiff? The scenes that made me laugh are scenes that had similarities to the ones from "Vacation". When the Griswalds interact among themselves the comedy comes across nicely. But when they're interacting with foreign policies it's actually poorly executed. The ending of this film was too rushed and also quite uninteresting you would miss the ending even if it came out to bite you. Aside from that I thought that this movie deserved an R rating rather than a PG-13. There's a lot of swearing, nudity and a myriad of hedonistic scenes that go beyond a PG-13 film. Several of the swearing was dubbed to avoid it from being an R rated movie, just in case you invite the young kiddies to see this film. Better yet, avoid the kids from seeing this movie and rent "Christmas Vacation" instead. There's foul language, but very minimal and used for more comic effect. I was a bit appalled that the family's last name was Griswald in this movie instead of the normal spelling Griswold. It wasn't the downfall for Miss Heckerling as she went on to direct the 1989 film "Look Who's Talking" while that same year Chase, D'Angelo and Hughes collaborated to make the far superior "Christmas Vacation". Even though this movie wasn't the best addition to the Vacation series it wasn't a complete failure and if you could refrain from taking this film seriously or offensively, it can be quite enjoyable.
pottsb29
By now I've watched all 4 vacation movies. Depending on your sense of humor, you might find some funny moments in European Vacation, or not find anything funny at all. The movie begins with the Griswalds winning a vacation to Europe in a game show. Although Clark and Ellen are looking forward to the vacation, the kids don't want to go, but end up going anyway. The vacation has a problematic beginning (staying in a hotel that's not as good as advertised), and for the Griswalds, it only gets worse. Unlike in Vacation, there is no specific destination the family is trying to reach, though there are references to some past events once they reach their final destination (Rome). Some of the things they discover in Rome are the following:(1) Before leaving home Clark made a video of Ellen, which she wanted him to erase. It becomes clear that the recording was not erased. (2) Throughout the movie Audrey has complained about leaving Jack. She sees him, or someone very similar to him, with another girl from a distance. (3) The bike rider Clark ran over in London shows up. It turns out that the accident caused more than a "flesh wound."My least favorite thing about the movie is Audrey complaining about being away from Jack (who didn't care much about her), especially because it happens at every destination. Some people might object to the nude scenes (there are more than in the other vacation movies).
Maziun
I quite understand the negative reviews toward this movie . I don't treat the first movie as some incredible masterpiece , but it was fun. This one is however a disappointment.The movie follows formula of the first one , yet they are some changes. There is no cousin Eddie this time and the Griswalds travel all over Europe instead of America. The cast is also obviously different – Rusty and Audrey Griswald have been re-casted . Instead of Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron we have Jason lively and Dana Hill .Many have complained about that . I have to admit that I don't like this sort of change too . Still , I think they were worthy replacements and personally I like Dana's Hill Audrey more than Barron's.There is also change of director . Harold Ramis ("Ghostbusters" ) has been replaced by Amy Heckerling ("Fast times at Ridgemont High"). She directs it with obvious 80's style (Griswalds at Italian shop , Griswalds at museum) and for me that's a good thing . John Hughes who has written original also is the author of screenplay here . "European vacation" doesn't only wants to be entertainment , but also is a satire on Americans . The movie makes fun of our heroes several times – kids complain about the lack of MTV , Griswalds don't know any language , sex is the best entertainment for them , they can't simply enjoy their time. I don't think that movie is cruel towards are heroes . They still the same sympathetic people only with unusual ability to fall into trouble.The famous song by Lindsey Buckingham "Holiday road" is back . There are also other great songs here : Power Station "Some like it hot" , Dr.John "New looks" and Network "Back in America".William Zabka (the bully from "Karate kid") makes a brief appearance as Jack – Audrey's boyfriend . Watch out also for Eric Idle (member of Monty Python) as unlucky British guy who gets accidentally hurt by Clark every time they met."European vacation" is a forced sequel . Most jokes is lame , I sadly admit (for example : the dream sequences at the airplane and the ending at the airplane) , but there are some funny jokes (for example : the vulgar waiter in France ,Clark can't turn left in England ) . It's still better than the next movie in franchise - "Vegas vacation" . Now THAT was a complete disaster. I give this one a 3/10.
