Following their winning partnership on the classic ‘80s teen films Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful, writer John Hughes and director Howard Deutch teamed up for the final time on this 1988 comedy starring older characters. John Candy leads the cast as a devoted middle-class father determined to provide a great vacation for his family at his childhood lakeside cabin. When his arrogant, rich brother-in-law (Dan Aykroyd) crashes the party with his own clan, familial clashes inevitably threaten to ruin vacation for everyone.
Buy The Great OutdoorsDespite being a massive fan of Hughes’ teen movies and SNL/SCTV alums, I never had any interest in this project, only viewing it now for the first time for nostalgia. I’m pleased to report that my teen mistrust of the original theatrical release has been validated. Candy and Aykroyd are fine in the roles, but Hughes saddles them with a limp script clearly originating as a Vacation vehicle before being slightly tweaked to accommodate the different stars. It’s Wisconsin Vacation without the Griswolds, with Candy tagging in for Chevy Chase and Aykroyd subbing for Randy Quaid’s blissfully abrasive Cousin Eddie. The biggest difference is that Candy’s Chet Ripley has two sons instead of the Griswold configuration of a son and daughter.
The two families get into all kinds of summer lakeside shenanigans, with the script playing more like a series of unrelated sketches than a cohesive narrative. There’s a prolonged segment of Candy’s misadventures on waterskis, a tall tale about a scalped bear that of course comes true, and wasted time on invading raccoons whose conversations are translated in handy subtitles. What’s missing is any real comedy, with the weak attempts falling flat throughout the film. Hughes sneaks in a little recurring teen romance in the form of Ripley’s teen son’s dalliance with a local girl, and it’s interesting to see Annette Bening as Aykroyd’s wife in her film debut role far beneath her talent. Sadly though, in the end there’s little to care about with the one-dimensional characters, and even less to laugh about with their ill-fated summer vacation.
The new 4K/Blu-ray combo pack boasts a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. While most older films recognize some tangible benefits from a 4K upgrade, this isn’t one of them, making it an odd choice for restoration. Although the 4K images appear somewhat sharper than Blu-ray, Ric Waite’s bland original cinematography leaves little room for enhancement, with even the naturally scenic outdoor wilderness shots looking flat and lifeless. Colors are undersaturated and overexposed, apparently retaining their original look. The print and soundtrack are super clean and free of defects, and film grain is on the low end for the era, but the lackluster source material limits potential for modern technical prowess. No bonus featurettes are included, but three different commentary tracks and the theatrical trailer are available.
