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Directed by Stephen Kessler
Produced by Jerry Weintraub
Written by Screenplay: Elisa Bell
Story: Elisa Bell, Bob Ducsay
Characters: John Hughes
Starring: Chevy Chase, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid
Music by Joel McNeely
Cinematography William A. Fraker
Editing by Seth Flaum
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 14, 1997 (USA)
Running time 93 min.
Language English
Gross revenue $36,429,528 (USA)

Vegas Vacation is a 1997 comedy film. It is the fourth film in the original Vacation film series centering around the fictitious Griswold family, following Vacation, European Vacation, and Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase reprises his starring role as Clark W. Griswold, the patriarch of the family. The film opened at #4 at the box office and grossed over $36.4 million domestically.^[1] This is the only theatrical Vacation film not to be sponsored by National Lampoon.

Plot

At work, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) has invented a long life food preservative, earning him a large bonus check. Clark announces to his family that he is taking them on vacation. Enthusiasm wanes, however, when Clark says they are headed to Las Vegas, Nevada.

His wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and teenage daughter, Audrey (Marisol Nichols) have their doubts, as Las Vegas is not known for its family-friendly atmosphere, while teenage son Rusty (Ethan Embry) appears to be more eager, even asking if prostitution is legal there.

Upon arriving in Vegas, the family embarks upon a series of mishaps and adventures. Clark crosses paths with Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), the husband of Ellen’s cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn). Eddie and his family now live in the desert just north of Las Vegas, on what used to be an H-bomb test site.

While on a group tour of the gigantic Hoover Dam, Clark foolishly leaves the group after accidentally creating a leak in the dam’s inside walkways, and is forced to climb the scaffolding to the very top of the dam to get out, because his cries for help cannot be heard over the roaring water of the spillway.

During the vacation in Las Vegas, Clark becomes addicted to gambling (mostly Blackjack, which he usually loses), Rusty gets a fake ID and becomes a winning high roller (taking on the pseudonym ‘Nick Pappagiorgio’), Audrey starts hanging out with Eddie’s wild stripper daughter Vickie (Shae D’Lyn) (and hanging out with impersonators of The Beatles as well), and Ellen becomes addicted to Wayne Newton (playing himself), who may have feelings for Ellen, and it’s making Clark jealous.

After Clark gambles away the family’s $22,600 bank account, Eddie—who has money buried in his front yard—tries to come to the Griswold family’s rescue in return for everything the Griswolds have done for him and his family over the years.

Ultimately, the family begins to fall apart, thanks to Clark’s obsessive gambling, Ellen’s infatuation with Wayne Newton, Rusty’s new winning lifestyle, and Audrey’s desire to engage in exotic dancing with Cousin Vicki rather than spend time with her family.

The Griswolds must learn how to come together as a family, or “Sin City” just might destroy their very fabric.

Near the climax of the film, the Griswolds gamble their last two dollars on a game of Keno. They take a seat next to an older man (Sid Caesar in a cameo) who compliments Clark on his lovely family, and hints that he’s been lonely all of his life. Out of guilt, Clark tells the man to consider himself part of the Griswold family for the night. The man happily accepts Clark’s kind words, and both parties begin the game. At first, the Griswolds are hopeful, but as they realize they’ve already lost the game, they sadly sit for moments in silence. Suddenly, the man next to them ecstatically declares that he’s won the game. As he continues to express joy, he suddenly begins to slip in and out of consciousness while Ellen sends Rusty for help. He awakens one last time and whispers a message to Clark, before dropping his winning ticket and falling one final time. Clark, puzzled, tells Ellen that the man said “take the ticket”. When the casino security guards and paramedics arrive, they declare the man officially dead. They tell the Griswolds his name was Mr. Ellis, and commented on how sad his loneliness was to them. As Mr. Ellis is carried away, a janitor approaches with a vacuum cleaner; walking straight for the winning ticket on the floor. Though it appears Clark is going to allow it to be lost, he at the last moment pulls the ticket out of the path of the vacuum.

Clark and Ellen remarry at the end. Afterwards, Clark hands Eddie a large pile of cash (Eddie can be overheard saying $5000 after counting it) and explains by telling him that “we were very fortunate last night”. Rusty tells Clark of the four cars he had won, a Dodge Viper, a Ford Mustang, a Hummer H1, and a Ford Aspire. Clark takes all the keys away from Rusty, but instead of confiscating them, he gives the keys to each family member. The movie rolls credits as the Griswolds are shown on Interstate 15, driving back home to Chicago.

Cast

Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold
Marisol Nichols as Audrey Griswold
Ethan Embry as Russell “Rusty” Griswold
Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie
Miriam Flynn as Cousin Catherine
Shae D’Lyn as Cousin Vicki
Wallace Shawn as Marty
Julia Sweeney as Mirage Reception Person

Cameos

Wayne Newton as himself
Siegfried & Roy as themselves
Toby Huss as young Frank Sinatra impersonator/fake i.d. salesman
Christie Brinkley as “Girl in the Red Ferrari” from the first film
Sid Caesar as Mr. Ellis
Jerry Weintraub as “Gilly from Philly”

Production

The Mirage Resort on the Las Vegas Strip was a major filming location for this movie. It was 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.

Nichols and Embry became the fourth different set of actors to play the Griswold children, Audrey and Rusty. This fact is referenced early in the film when Clark Griswold comments that he hardly recognizes his children anymore. The role of Huss was similar to a number of MTV commercials from the early 1990s that featured Huss as a Vegas crooner.

This was the first (and only) theatrical Vacation film in the series to receive a PG rating. The first Vacation film was rated R, while European Vacation and Christmas Vacation received PG-13 ratings. As a result the language, and vulgar/sexual situations as in the previous films do somewhat exist but are much more mild and toned down than the other installments.

Critical reception

The film has received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The film has garnered a “Rotten” rating of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes^[2] and a weighted average score of 20 out of 100 on Metacritic.^[3] However, the film has received a C+ rating at Box Office Mojo and a score on 5.5 on Internet Movie Database.

Despite mixed reviews, Vegas Vacation has found success on DVD and on television.

References

Links

• Vegas Vacation at the Internet Movie Database
• Vegas Vacation at Allrovi

Acest articol este licentiat sub GNU Free Documentation License. Foloseste materiale din Wikipedia.

Directed by Barry Levinson
Produced by Mark Johnson
Screenplay by Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
Story by Barry Morrow
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography John Seale
Editing by Stu Linder
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)
Running time 133 minutes
Country United States
Language English, Italian
Budget $25 million
Gross revenue $354,825,435

Rain Man is a 1988 comedy-drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, a man with autism of whose existence Charlie was unaware.

The film stars Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt, Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt, and Valeria Golino as Charlie’s girlfriend, Susanna. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting Kim Peek, a real-life savant; his characterization was based on both Peek and Bill Sackter, a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of Bill, an earlier film that Morrow wrote.^[1] Rain Man received overwhelmingly positive reviews at the time of its release, praising Hoffman’s role and the wit and sophistication of the screenplay.

The film won four Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards (March 1989), including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a leading role for Hoffman. Its crew received an additional four nominations.^[2] The film also won the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.^[3]

Plot

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a Los Angeles car dealer in his mid-twenties, is in the middle of importing four grey market Lamborghinis. The deal is being threatened by the EPA, and if Charlie cannot meet its requirements he will lose a significant amount of money. After some quick subterfuge with an employee, Charlie leaves for a weekend trip to Palm Springs with his girlfriend, Susanna (Valeria Golino).

Charlie’s trip is cancelled by news that his estranged father, Sanford Babbitt, has died. Charlie travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, to settle the estate, where he learns an undisclosed trustee is inheriting $3 million on behalf of an unnamed beneficiary, while all he is to receive is a classic Buick Roadmaster convertible and several prize rose bushes. Eventually he learns the money is being directed to a mental institution, which is the home of his brother with autism, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), of whose existence Charlie was previously unaware. This leads Charlie to ask the question that permeates the movie: “Why didn’t somebody tell me I had a brother?”

Although Raymond has autism, he also has superb recall, albeit usually with little understanding of the subject matter, and extreme skill in mathematics. He is said to be a savant by some doctors. He is frightened by change and adheres to strict routines (for example, his continual repetition of the “Who’s on First?” sketch). Except when he is in distress, he shows little emotional expression and avoids eye contact. Numbed by learning that he has a brother and determined to get what he believes is his fair share of the Babbitt estate, Charlie takes Raymond on what becomes a cross-country car trip (due to Raymond’s fear of flying) back to Los Angeles to meet with his attorneys. Charlie intends to start a custody battle in order to get Raymond’s doctor, Dr. Gerald R. Bruner (Jerry Molen), to settle out of court for half of Sanford Babbitt’s estate so that the mental institution can maintain custody of Raymond.

During the course of the journey, Charlie learns about Raymond’s autism, which he initially believes is curable — resulting in his frequent frustration with his brother’s antics. He also learns about how his brother came to be separated from his family, as a result of an accident when he was left alone with Charlie when Charlie was a baby. Raymond also sings “I Saw Her Standing There” by The Beatles like he did when Charlie was young. Charlie proves to be sometimes shallow and exploitative, as when he learns that Raymond has an excellent memory and takes him to Las Vegas to win money at blackjack by counting cards. However, towards the end of their trip Charlie finds himself becoming protective of Raymond, and grows to truly love him.

Charlie finally meets with his attorney to try to get his share of his inheritance, but then decides that he no longer cares about the money and really just wants to have custody of his brother. However, at a meeting with a court-appointed psychiatrist and Dr. Bruner, Raymond is unable to decide exactly what he wants. Eventually, the psychiatrist presses Raymond to make the decision, upsetting him and leading Charlie to request that the doctor back off. Raymond is allowed to go back home to Cincinnati. Charlie, who has gained a new brother and mellowed considerably, promises Raymond as he boards an Amtrak train that he will visit in two weeks.

Cast

Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt
Dustin Hoffman as Raymond “Ray / Rain Man” Babbitt
Valeria Golino as Susanna
Jerry Molen as Dr. Bruner
Jack Murdock as John Mooney
Michael D. Roberts as Vern
Ralph Seymour as Lenny
Lucinda Jenney as Iris
Kim Robillard as Small Town Doctor
Barry Levinson (uncredited) as Doctor
Bonnie Hunt as Sally Dibbs

Effect on popular culture

Rain Man‘s portrayal of the main character’s condition has been seen as inaugurating a common and incorrect media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to Rain Man, in particular Dustin Hoffman’s performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism.^[12] However, Rain Man has also been seen as dispelling a number of other misconceptions about autism and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they are savant skills.^[13]

References

Links

• Rain Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Rain Man at the TCM Movie Database
• Rain Man at Allmovie
• Rain Man at Box Office Mojo
• Rain Man at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rain Man at Metacritic

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.