Summer Rental

Summer Rental is a 1985 American comedy about Jack Chester, an air traffic controller worn down by years of pressure at work. He takes his wife Sandy, their three children and the family dog to Florida for a beach holiday, hoping to unwind. Instead, almost everything goes wrong, from the rented house and crowded beaches to the heat of the sun and the restaurant queues.

Jack clashes repeatedly with Al Pellet, a wealthy local yachtsman and sailing champion who looks down on the family. After a series of humiliations, Jack befriends Scully, an old sailor who runs a floating restaurant aboard his boat, and the two of them challenge Pellet in the annual regatta. The film was directed by Carl Reiner, its sixth feature following All of Me, and stars John Candy as Jack, with Richard Crenna as Pellet, Rip Torn as Scully, Karen Austin, Kerri Green and John Larroquette. It was written by Jeremy Stevens and Mark Reisman and produced by George Shapiro.

Summer Rental is a modestly scaled studio comedy, running 87 minutes. It took about 25 million dollars worldwide, a solid return for its kind. On IMDb it holds a 6.3 rating from roughly 20,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.1 from around 244 votes, suggesting a small but consistent base of viewers who remember it as lightweight 1980s fare.