Vegas Vacation

Day 86 - 3/27/09 - Movie #83

BEFORE: Vegas week continues - I've seen the first two "Vacation" films, but not the others. I wonder why "National Lampoon" is missing from the title - was there some kind of falling-out or legal battle?

THE PLOT: The Griswold clan is back and this time Clark makes another one of his spirited attempts to plan the perfect family vacation, this time to the glittering casinos and glitzy attractions of Las Vegas.

AFTER: Many theories have been proposed to explain the variable ages of the Griswold children - why they're older in one movie, and younger in the next. I'll leave that alone, but I'll propose a new angle: What if Randy Quaid's character is just a figment of Clark Griswold's imagination? Adds an air of "Fight Club" to the movie, doesn't it? Or maybe it's Christie Brinkley - she's not real, and Clark has some kind of brain tumor? Anyway, good appearances by Sid Caesar, and Wallace Shawn as a taunting blackjack dealer.

RATING: 4 out of 10 slot-machines