A year after starring in two very good comedies, Spaceballs and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, John Candy teamed up with Dan Aykroyd for the 1988 film The Great Outdoors.
In the film Candy plays Chet Ripley, an average Joe who takes his wife and two sons on a summer vacation to a lakeside cabin in Wisconsin. Shortly after they arrive their vacation is disrupted by Chet's flashy, jerk of a brother-in-law Roman (played by Dan Aykroyd). A good chunk of the films comedy comes from the tension between the two and, while I wouldn't call the result an amazing comedy, enough of it works to be entertaining. There is a sub-plot with Chet's son Buck having a little summer romance with a local girl, but it doesn't add much to the film in my opinion and my guess is that it was only in the movie to get the runtime up to 90 minutes. As for the performances of the two leads; Dan Aykroyd's character is played a bit over-the-top but, I think it works. John Candy is just being his usual likeable self, slapstick gags and all.
Overall, The Great Outdoors is a fairly average comedy. There are some genuinely funny lines and memorable moments but, I don't regard it as the highlight of either star's filmography.
I give it a 3 out of 5.
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