National Lampoon's European Vacation

The Griswold family wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe on a television game show, and Clark, Ellen, Audrey and Rusty set off from Chicago for a whirlwind tour of the continent. Clark is determined to give his family the perfect vacation, but his enthusiasm for sightseeing keeps running into practical problems, from driving on the wrong side of the road in London to misunderstandings in France, Germany and Italy. The children are less than thrilled about the trip, and one mishap after another turns the grand tour into a comedy of errors.

This is the second film in the National Lampoon's Vacation series, following the family's original road trip, with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo returning as Clark and Ellen. Amy Heckerling directed it, placing it third in her filmography after Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Johnny Dangerously. John Hughes and Robert Klane wrote the screenplay, and Matty Simmons produced. The credited cast runs to 48 performers, including Dana Hill and Jason Lively as the children, with Eric Idle and Victor Lanoux in supporting roles.

Released in July 1985, the film cost about 17 million dollars to make and took roughly 49 million dollars worldwide, a solid commercial return. On IMDb it holds a 6.2 rating from more than 70,000 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 6.2, from around a thousand votes. A critics' score of 5.1 from 30 reviews places it below both audience figures, suggesting viewers have been more forgiving of its broad humor than reviewers were.