Vegas Vacation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vegas Vacation
Vegas Vacation poster
Directed by	Stephen Kessler
Produced by	Jerry Weintraub
Written by	Elisa Bell & Bob Ducsay
Starring	Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo Randy Quaid
Music by	Joel McNeely
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Editing by	Seth Flaum
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	14 February 1997 (USA)
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
Preceded by	Christmas Vacation
Followed by	Christmas Vacation 2
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Vegas Vacation, released in 1997, is the fourth part of the Vacation film series centering around the fictitious Griswold family, following National Lampoon's Vacation, National Lampoon's European Vacation, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It is also the first film in the series not licensed with the National Lampoon moniker. Chevy Chase again reprises his starring role as Clark Griswold, the patriarch of the family.

Griswold, following a big promotion, announces to his family that he is taking them on vacation. Their enthusiasm wanes, however, when they hear they are headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. His wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) and teenage children Rusty (Ethan Embry) and Audrey (Marisol Nichols) have their doubts, as Las Vegas is not known for its family-friendly atmosphere.

Upon arriving in Vegas, the family embarks upon a series of mishaps and adventures that bring them in contact with many famous people, as well as returning cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her eccentric husband Eddie (Randy Quaid) and vulgar children, whom they visit at their trailer park in the desert. While on a group tour of the gigantic Hoover Dam, macho Clark foolishly leaves the group to climb scaffolding to the very top, and then has a hard time descending back after a security door locks behind him and his cries for help cannot be heard over the roaring water.

Ultimately, the family begins to fall apart, thanks to Clark's - and later, Rusty's - obsessive gambling (to varying degrees of success), Ellen's infatuation with Wayne Newton, and Audrey's desire to hang out with sexually-charged Cousin Vicki, rather than her conservative family. The Griswold's must learn how to come together as a family, or "Sin City" will destroy their very fabric.

[edit] Trivia

The Mirage Resort on the Las Vegas Strip was a major filming location for this movie.
Filmed during the busy tourist season, from mid-June, through late September 1996.
Several sections of the movie are filmed at Shenandoah, the home of entertainer Wayne Newton, who also appears in the film.
Producer Jerry Weintraub makes a cameo appearance as "Gilly from Philly".
Siegfried and Roy's world-famous stage show is featured, with the entertainers (and tigers) interacting with Chase.
Dharma & Greg veteran Shae D'Lyn plays Cousin Vicki.
Wallace Shawn, Julia Sweeney, and Toby Huss have small roles; Sid Caesar appears in a cameo. Toby Huss portrayed a young Frank Sinatra impersonator/fake i.d. salesman. The role was similar to a number of MTV commercials from the early 90's that featured Huss as a Vegas crooner.
The "Cousin Vicki" and "Cousin Dale" characters appear here for the first time since the original Vacation film (though both are played by different actors).
Christie Brinkley has a cameo as "the girl in the Ferrari" from the first Vacation film, although this time she is revealed to have a baby. (This also features a tribute to Vacation with "Holiday Road" playing in the background.)
Clark tells Rusty and Audrey that he hardly recognizes them anymore, a reference to having different actors play the Griswold children in each of the four movies.
Early working titles include National Lampoon's Las Vegas Vacation and National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation
Although depicted as a joke, casino war is a real casino game.