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The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors

1988
Comedy
1h 31m
A Chicago man's hope for a peaceful family vacation in the woods is shattered when the annoying in-laws drop in. (imdb)
Your probable score
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The Great Outdoors

1988
Comedy
1h 31m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 40.04% from 741 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(741)
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Rated 14 Aug 2007
15
7th
In my dreams, the bear wins and eviserates them all...
Rated 11 Feb 2008
63
9th
The absolute shit that I forced my poor dad to drag me too. I should really apologize.
Rated 21 Jun 2013
66
51st
Raised a above the sum of its parts by Aykroyd and Candy working so well together. A lot of the humor falls flat but there is an "80's'ish" charm to it.
Rated 08 May 2014
20
8th
I laughed once. It interrupted my hour-long grimace.
Rated 26 Jul 2020
6
70th
Definitely feels like it’s one quick and small rewrite from just subbing in the Griswolds and being “National Lampoon’s Camping Vacation,” but John Candy makes it work. Just be prepared for lots and lots of animal hijinks - bears and raccoons and bats and leeches, oh my!
Rated 26 Feb 2007
40
19th
A few laughs.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
61
43rd
I loved this movie when I was younger, mainly for the "Old 76er" scene. However, now that I am older and not entranced by shiny objects, I see it now as your run of the mill 80's comedy starring folks who hit it big on SNL/SCTV. Some good laughs here and there, however, and a better movie than Summer Rental.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
83
83rd
One of my favorite Dan Aykroyd movies, but not one of my favorite John Candy movies. Though, even a mediocre John Candy outing is still very good.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
35
5th
If you like John Candy humor - this film is for you.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
22
4th
Unfunny and annoying. This is the only Candy film I ever WALKED out of. I tried again on video, didn't like it there either.
Rated 17 Sep 2007
65
49th
not good, but pretty amusing
Rated 03 Mar 2008
73
48th
Pretty funny movie. Candy and Akroyd are always good for a laugh. Always reminds me of the song Yakity-Yak.... Don't talk back...
Rated 24 Apr 2008
56
43rd
Could have been a lot funnier without the torturously dull teen crush subplot. The 96'er is unforgettable.
Rated 22 Sep 2008
55
41st
It is a typical comedy of the 80s, at a time when it held a series of films with similar themes. Is what expect for this movie: completely goofy, but funny nonetheless.
Rated 12 Dec 2008
88
70th
20 years old and still funny. great gags with one of the friendliest faces of american cinema John Candy. The perfect Movie for a sunday afternoon.
Rated 07 Jan 2009
86
68th
Another John Candy classic. Aykroyd and Candy are two of the funniest guys in movie history and The Great Outdoors doesn't disappoint.
Rated 22 Feb 2009
87
83rd
John Candy was so great in this.
Rated 01 May 2009
85
43rd
The scene where the bear gets his ass shot is still hilarious and I've seen it a million times since I was little.
Rated 10 Jul 2009
89
85th
John Candy Dan Aykroyd = Comedy Win. Plus John Hughes as the writer does not hurt anything either. ^_^
Rated 01 Aug 2009
80
84th
One of the endeared films of my childhood. It's full of Hughes' charm and has a great cast. I love it as much now as I did when I was 7 or 8 years old and it makes me laugh.
Rated 19 Sep 2009
55
42nd
there's nothing on that plate but gristle and fat ... ok if i can get a dessert down him, think you can throw in a couple of paul bunyan hats for the kids? not great, but there are still some class moments from candy and akroyd
Rated 26 Jan 2010
80
81st
This is a summer classic. Another movie from the great partnership of Hughes and Deutch. I have seen it countless times and I always love it. John Candy and Dan Aykroyd are both at the top of their game and play off each other so well. Like all Hughes films the strength of the picture comes from the writing. The characters are well grounded in reality. Everyone knows people like this so the humour is easy to relate to. Also, who doesn't like those raccoons!
Rated 20 Mar 2010
53
54th
Too much bear nudity for my tastes.
Rated 06 Apr 2011
82
22nd
I'm not sure how objectively good this is, but it's a nostalgic favorite.
Rated 05 Jul 2011
72
41st
A relatively failed comedy that is competent enough to keep the attention, but carries no lasting power at all. It sets it's self up with a plot promising enough as a good framework, but is fleshed out poorly. Like a wedding dress after a house fire, one can admire what it should be, yet I doubt any self respecting woman would wear it on their wedding day--or man, if that's your thing.
Rated 28 Jul 2011
59
23rd
Mediocre Candy film that I only watch because I used to have a thing for Stephanie Faracy.
Rated 04 Sep 2011
64
30th
It's hard to rate movies that I only watched as a kid. Although I liked them at the time, it's a fair bet if I watched it now I wouldn't feel the same way.
Rated 02 Oct 2011
30
3rd
I am a huge fan of John Hughes, but this movie just had no style or substance. Very mediocre with no real laughs to be had.
Rated 29 Nov 2011
70
53rd
A week in the great outdoors with John Candy. THE MOST MAGICAL WEEK.
Rated 04 Jan 2012
90
84th
John Candy is surely missed. He was a very funny man and this is one of my favorite films of the 80's.
Rated 08 Jan 2012
50
28th
5- worth experiencing, alright
Rated 17 Jun 2012
70
33rd
Funny
Rated 18 Jul 2012
76
56th
This is a fun family comedy that still makes me smile after many years. John Candy is great and he is the main reason to watch this comedy. The plot is nothing special but there are plenty of laughs.
Rated 04 Oct 2012
68
33rd
This 80's movie is good enough for classics family movie despite the mediocre quality. the reason of this movie being a classic it is because Dan Aykroyd and John Candy hilarious comedic performance.their comedy was good enough to make the movie memorable. without their presence,this movie would have been forgotten by now.
Rated 03 Dec 2012
69
32nd
least favorite from john candy
Rated 29 Jan 2013
88
36th
This has really grown on me over the years. Mainly due to John Candy's limited body of work. I wish there was more. So talented!
Rated 09 Jul 2013
70
36th
A funny yet predictable 80's family comedy. This may have been the first time that I have watched the movie in it's entirety. It is a fun movie, but not even one of my favorite family road comedy movies. It is really interesting watching these suburban middle class white comedies and knowing that movies have changed quite a bit since the 80's. The last comment that I will make is: I was intrigued by watching Dan Aykroyd in his last "cool" performance.
Rated 18 Jul 2014
35
13th
It was pretty terrible and unfunny especially for even the low standards of a 1980s dumb comedy. However it was interesting to watch the dueling failed patriarchal masculinities between the honest fat oaf in love with traditions and the careless prideful material obsessed breadwinner.
Rated 25 Nov 2014
20
2nd
A handful of good laughs with Candy and Akroyd can't disguise the downright awful movie they're placed in. Might contain the single worst love story side plot in movie history, I kid you not.
Rated 09 Mar 2015
57
26th
I enjoyed this from the perspective of a father watching his children laugh at much of it. The John Candy scary bald bear story was memorable. The teenage love subplot was terrible.
Rated 22 Dec 2015
69
37th
68.500
Rated 25 Dec 2016
81
18th
2
Rated 30 Jan 2017
47
24th
Reuniting John Hughes (as a writer) and John Candy from Plains, Trains & Automobiles, this is surprisingly mediocre late 80's comedy. It might as well have been a rejected script from Chevy Chase's Vacation series where Hughes was also involved. There are very few funny scenes and the film tries to target audiences of all age groups which makes it too silly for adults and too vulgar for the younger kids. Maybe the most interesting aspect is to see where Annette Bening started from.
Rated 03 Jul 2017
55
29th
The rating is slightly bumped because of John Candy and the nostalgia factor. The film feels like a bunch of vignettes about cottage life. Basically, Candy plays his typical wholesome self, while Aykroyd plays a slimeball. A few laughs here and there.
Rated 07 Jul 2017
3
5th
Remarkably unremarkable, with a predictable comedic plot that's not even done particularly well. The central character dynamic between Candy's down-to-earth dad and Aykroyd's obnoxious rich guy lacks a certain zest, and most of the gags are either bland or go on way too long (see the water-skiing slapstick; unbearable bear story). Buck's pointless and uninteresting romantic side plot does nothing to spice things up, while the final act development for Roman feels a little out of place.
Rated 08 Jul 2017
55
27th
Though the effectiveness of its writing is largely hit-or-miss, the undeniable chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and John Candy makes The Great Outdoors worth watching.
Rated 01 Feb 2018
40
9th
Yeesh. All of the events in the plot seemed forced, and the roles seemed reversed. I think it would've been a lot better to have John Candy driving Dan Aykroyd crazy, instead of the other way around.
Rated 10 Sep 2018
54
24th
C+
Rated 05 Feb 2020
54
21st
It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either. Had a few laughs, but the script could've been much better and a lot less corny.
Rated 05 Apr 2021
20
2nd
I skipped this when it came out and I was at a prime age to enjoy it. I wish I had listened to my younger self.
Rated 13 May 2022
68
46th
Wewerentinvitedlol+baldkillerbearstory+coonslipsandassholescallbacklool+twinsdidntsleepcuzDfuckedupmademorescaredlool+beenwaitingfortheirheadstospinaround/ourkidsalrewdydothatlol+picoldguy-deadlol-hedidit+poolcuegirlcrotchlol+haveyoueverseenwhiterwhiteslool+steakchallengelol+lovethelocalromance3days+guilthiminto25kinvestmentlol+cantgothroughwithcon/bankrupt+pullsbaldbearoutlol+shootassomgbald/cryingsadlolfucked+wifelettingthemstaywith:p
Rated 23 Aug 2022
44
25th
This completely unfunny movie was a complete miss for me. Dan Aykroyd has always been hit or miss for me but John Candy has been a favorite of mine even if he has been in very many actually good movies.
Rated 12 Apr 2023
60
46th
Another John Hughes movie that doesn't work for me. The raccoons were the highlight.
Rated 03 Oct 2023
60
30th
John Candy is a Canadian hero

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