  national lampoon's vacation, sometimes referred to as vacation, is a 1983 technicolor comedy film directed by harold ramis and starring chevy chase, beverly d'angelo, randy quaid, dana barron, and anthony michael hall. john candy, imogene coca, christie brinkley, and jane krakowski appear in supporting roles. the screenplay was written by john hughes, based on his short story "vacation '58" which appeared in national lampoon. the original story is a fictionalized account of his own family's ill-fated trip to disneyland when hughes was a boy. the success of the film helped advance his screenwriting career. the film was a box-office hit, earning more than $61 million in the us with an estimated budget of $15 million, and received widespread acclaim from critics. in 2000, readers of total film voted it the 46th greatest comedy film of all time. it is widely considered to be the best film in the vacation series, and continues to be a cult film and a staple on cable television. , the film has received a 95% "fresh" rating on rotten tomatoes. ==plot== clark griswold (chevy chase), wanting to spend more time with his wife ellen (beverly d'angelo) and children rusty (anthony michael hall) and audrey (dana barron), decides to lead the family on a cross-country expedition from the chicago area to the los angeles amusement park walley world, billed as "america's favorite family fun park". ellen wants to fly, but clark insists on driving, so he can bond with his family. in preparation, he has ordered a new "sports wagon" for the trip, but the dealer (eugene levy) claims the sports wagon will not be ready for six weeks. clark is forced to accept a wagon queen family truckster, an outsized station wa
1980s_comedy_films 1983_films American_films Amusement_parks_in_fiction Animal_cruelty_in_fiction English-language_films Films_directed_by_Harold_Ramis Films_set_in_Arizona Films_set_in_Chicago,_Illinois Films_set_in_Colorado Films_set_in_Illinois Films_set_in_Kansas Films_set_in_Missouri Films_shot_in_Arizona Films_shot_in_Chicago,_Illinois Films_shot_in_Colorado Films_shot_in_Illinois Films_shot_in_Missouri National_Lampoon\'s_Vacation_(film_series) Road_movies Warner_Bros._films