The Great Outdoors is Great

“An awesome summer comedy.” The Great Outdoors (1988).

By R.J.F.

It strikes that perfect comedy balance between silly and soulful.

t’s summertime, although you wouldn’t know it by this oddly cool and cloudy weather So Cal has been experiencing since the end of May. When I was a kid, my parents would take my brother and I on some kind of vacation for a week during the summer. We usually went camping at a local beach, which I always loved. There were a couple of times where we headed into the mountains for a different camping experience, which I didn’t enjoy as much.

I hated that we had to be super careful about food storage, or any storage of goods that involved scented items because of bears in the area. I was usually preoccupied with the thought of a bear ripping into my tent at night to maul me to death because it could smell some leftover toothpaste on my mouth, as I had seen in an episode of Rescue 911. I didn’t like the dirt floor that always made the bottom half of my legs look dusty, and the fact that the dirt would always get in my tent. I was bored with hiking and looking at big trees; I longed to be in the ocean playing in the waves until sunset.

As an adult looking back, I’m grateful that my parents switched it up now and again by taking us to the mountains; I did see and experience some really beautiful things on those trips. I think a lot of kids feel annoyed when their parents take them somewhere they don’t really have an interest in, but they have no choice because of their age and, obviously, they usually don’t have their own money.

In the movie The Great Outdoors, Chet Ripley, played by John Candy, takes his family on vacation to a cabin in the mountains. He’s looking forward to spending quality time with his wife and two sons, who aren’t too thrilled with being away from their friends for the summer. Just as they’ve settled into their cabin, the party gets crashed by Roman Craig, his high-falutin brother-in-law, portrayed by Dan Aykroyd, along with his wife and kids. The two men battle it out to see who is the best dad, the strongest woodsman, and the all-around bravest dude in a hilarious pissing contest that almost always goes awry for Chet.

Out of all the movies I’ve seen Candy in, this one is my favorite because of the amount of physical comedy; it makes me burst out laughing every time. There are quite a few memorable scenes of Chet exercising his bravado against Roman and falling short, but if I had to choose one scene, it would be the water skiing scene.

Chet rents a lavish and over-the-top speed boat for the two families to use on the lake because he wants to show Roman up. This boat is crazy compared to the smaller and more acceptable boats being used on the lake. The entire scene, from the moment Chet fumbles his entrance into the water on the skis to when he almost clotheslines other boaters with the ropes to his terror being misinterpreted as wanting Roman to go faster, leaves me cackling.

The teaming up of Candy and Aykroyd was a genius move. Candy is full of heart and goofiness, while Aykroyd is fast talking and throws out quick one-liners like he’s got them to spare. One could say that this movie is mostly about these two comedy actors working a hilariously explosive tango that’s disguised as a family friendly comedy.

Although the film is rich with physical comedy, Candy brought so much heart to this role. As Chet, he is really trying to connect with his sons and be a good example to them, but it mostly ends with Chet looking like a doofus. He takes them fishing in the early morning hours, but that ends disastrously. He thinks it would be fun to tell the tale of a bear that he escaped from, but ends up terrifying everyone. He eats a 96 ounce steak to win notoriety at a local restaurant and ends up puking it up when they get back to the cabin. I mean, Chet is trying all kinds of things to impress his kids, and to also get a leg up on Roman.

But, it’s towards the end of the film that Chet’s role model wishes come true. He has positively affected his kids and their relationship when the family packs up to head home, despite all the blunders. Not only that, but he’s made his wife’s eyes sparkle with admiration, and even bails out Roman in a financial time of need. I guess it all ended up working out for Chet, even if his kids were hesitant to be in the great outdoors.

On the whole, this film is an awesome summer comedy to enjoy with family and friends, even if you’re not a big fan of the mountains, like yours truly.