Bruce Almighty said:

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Heavyweights is great. I watched that a couple of months ago for the first time in years. I didn't think it was going to hold up now that I'm in my 40s, but I still liked it.

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One of Ben Stiller's greatest roles.

Been a long, long time since I watched Summer Rental. Watched it on hbo.

Yea it is not even close to the great outdoors.

heddleston said:

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I tell people "I am with you" in a bad north european accent at least 4 times a week.

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This is great. I also think about the "Buddy!" yell every now and then in certain situations.

That being said, this thread is great. Count me in for Great Outdoors. I like both movies, but that one I seem to remember/recall more.

Furlock Bones said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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Heavyweights is great. I watched that a couple of months ago for the first time in years. I didn't think it was going to hold up now that I'm in my 40s, but I still liked it.

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One of Ben Stiller's greatest roles.

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Off topic but I think we should consider Dodgeball a sequel of Heavyweights.

I'm a huge Great Outdoors fan. The "blow it out your a**" scene is top 5 all time for me.

A couple more dramatic that were largely set at summer vacation:

Stealing Home
On Golden Pond
Dirty Dancing

I love movies like The Great Outdoors that are funny for kids but have jokes for adults that kids may not get. I was nine when it came out and had no idea what the spin cycle was referring to until I was older.

Philo B 93 said:

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Every summer I waste about four hours watching Summer Vacation (1985, 17% RT) and The Great Outdoors (1988, 44% RT). That's right, combining their RT score still yields a failing grade. But these shows are mini vacations when you're stuck inside hiding from the heat and mosquitoes. The beach or the mountains? A simple choice between two VHS cassettes.

A lesser beach vacation is Back to the Beach (1987, 71% RT) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Critics liked it better, but bring some crackers, because this show brings a lot of cheese. I can enjoy it once every 5 years.

National Lampoon's Vacation is certainly a standard bearer in this genre, but I consider that a road trip movie, not a vacation movie, ironically.

Other mini-vacation movies I like are Grown-ups and Weekend at Bernies, but by the time I finish the John Candy Summer Chronicles, I'm usually good till Planes Trains in November.

If you've wasted your time this far, which do you like better: Great Outdoors or Summer Rental?

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They're both great.

The biggest thing now is being older than John Candy was in both is that I more identify with the dads. When I saw these movies originally, I identified more with the kids. They're both totally different movies.

I was pretty much the same age as Chris Young when that movie came out, so to me that movie was about him and the dad was a secondary character.

Summer Vacation, I was in love with Kerri Green, so I watched it from that perspective.

I love them both and if I had to choose it would be Summer Vacation because of Kerri Green.

Heavyweights is one of my all time kid favorites

I think to truly apreciate these movies, how old you were when they come out changes how much you appreciate them.

Heavyweights and Sandlot came out when I was in college. Now, I appreciate how good those movies were, but I think they would hold a better place in my heart if they had come out when I was a kid.

Just my opinion.

Chet's house in The Great Outdoors.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/320+Vassar+Ln,+Des+Plaines,+IL+60016/@42.0594181,-87.9188283,3a,75y,179.06h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxEdgtIuwj_Qw740_0jVTZw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x880fb9e21fb29037:0xbb081696004f2f1f!8m2!3d42.0593801!4d-87.9188595

Definitely. I think I was 5 when Heavyweights came out

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Philo B 93 said:

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Every summer I waste about four hours watching Summer Vacation (1985, 17% RT) and The Great Outdoors (1988, 44% RT). That's right, combining their RT score still yields a failing grade. But these shows are mini vacations when you're stuck inside hiding from the heat and mosquitoes. The beach or the mountains? A simple choice between two VHS cassettes.

A lesser beach vacation is Back to the Beach (1987, 71% RT) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Critics liked it better, but bring some crackers, because this show brings a lot of cheese. I can enjoy it once every 5 years.

National Lampoon's Vacation is certainly a standard bearer in this genre, but I consider that a road trip movie, not a vacation movie, ironically.

Other mini-vacation movies I like are Grown-ups and Weekend at Bernies, but by the time I finish the John Candy Summer Chronicles, I'm usually good till Planes Trains in November.

If you've wasted your time this far, which do you like better: Great Outdoors or Summer Rental?

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They're both great.

The biggest thing now is being older than John Candy was in both is that I more identify with the dads. When I saw these movies originally, I identified more with the kids. They're both totally different movies.

I was pretty much the same age as Chris Young when that movie came out, so to me that movie was about him and the dad was a secondary character.

Summer Vacation, I was in love with Kerri Green, so I watched it from that perspective.

I love them both and if I had to choose it would be Summer Vacation because of Kerri Green.

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So this. I was in high school when GO came out, so I watched from the kids' perspective. Now I am doing my very best to be Chet Ripley and do similar vacations with my kids.

Kerri Green was a dime, starting with The Goonies. Big fan of Cammie in GO too. The pool cue goose scene is the stuff high school boys' dreams are made of.

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Big fan of Cammie in GO too. The pool cue goose scene is the stuff high school boys' dreams are made of.

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Definitely. I was a huge fan of hers too.

Every year we alternate between beach and mountains vacation. I just got back from a week in Colorado with my teens.

oragator said:

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Being a Florida guy I like summer rental better. And being from Tampa where it was filmed adds some nostalgia.

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Now I have to watch it. Born and raised in Tampa. Graduated from Hillsborough High School like mom before me.

For me, souped up boat = Suck My Wake

Love the great outdoors!