The Great Outdoors (1988)

Director:

Howard Deutch

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

This holiday's no picnic.

Plot:

A Chicago man's hope for a peaceful family vacation in the woods is shattered when the annoying in-laws drop in.

Plot Keywords:

Brother In Law | Lifting Person In Air | Power Outage | Bat | Dead Man

Cast

Dan Aykroyd	...	Roman Craig
John Candy	...	Chet Ripley
Stephanie Faracy	...	Connie Ripley
Annette Bening	...	Kate Craig
Chris Young	...	Buck Ripley
Ian Giatti	...	Ben Ripley
Hilary Gordon	...	Cara Craig
Rebecca Gordon	...	Mara Craig
Robert Prosky	...	Wally
Zoaunne LeRoy	...	Juanita
Lucy Deakins	...	Cammie
Nancy Lenehan	...	Waitress
John Bloom	...	Jimbo
Lewis Arquette	...	Herm
Britt Leach	...	Reg

Also Known As:

Big Country (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bass Lake, California, USA

Company:

Hughes Entertainment

Trivia:

The scene where Chet and Roman are trying to catch the Bat, The Bat lands on Chet's face and Roman (Dan Aykroyd) hits it with his broom weapon, the bat falls on the floor and Roman screams out: "We got it, We got it." Dan Aykroyd uses that same line in Ghost Busters (1984) after catching the Slimer in the Hotel. He comes out with the trap screaming: "We got it, We got it".

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Chet is skiing and jumps the bushes, a small ski ramp is visible.

Quotes:

Chet: Taking the last bite of Paul Bunyans's Old 96er
Roman: I think that just about does it.
Grill Chef: He's not done yet!
Roman: It might take him a moment for that last bite to go down, but it will go down!
Grill Chef: That ain't the last bite!
Roman: Well sure it is, there is nothing on that plate but gristle and fat!
Grill Chef: Raising his eyebrows
Roman: No Problem. If i can get a dessert down him, think you can throw in a couple of Paul Bunyan hat's for the kids?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in She's Having a Baby (1988)

Soundtrack:

Yakety Yak

Classic

This is one of the best commedies ever made. I love the humor, comraderie, hatred, envy. everything. This is one movie that you could watch a thousand time and never get sick of it. John Candy is a true genius and I wish he were still around to make us all laugh. Great movie and if you have a problem with that dont' sing it bring it!