The Great Outdoors

"The wildlife is wild, but his brother-in-law in unbearable."

Jun 17 1988 PG 1h 31m
Comedy

It's vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley, along with his wife, Connie, and their two kids, Buck and Ben. But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie's obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig, his wife, Kate, and the couple's two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

Plot

Nostalgic about the good old days in the honeymoon cabin, the patriarch Chet and the Ripley family set off to the idyllic woods of Wisconsin for the summer vacation. However, their plans for a peaceful family bonding in the heart of the untamed nature will be thwarted, when the high-rolling brother-in-law Roman and the snotty Craig family decide to crash the party. Eventually, as the two families try to have a good time together, a seemingly endless series of misfortunes and mini-disasters with thirsty leeches, cunning racoons and a mythical wild bear, threaten to ruin the vacation. What will it take to salvage the weekend?

Written by

John Hughes

Directed by

Howard Deutch

Cast

Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Hughes Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Trailers
The Great Outdoors - Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
53,618
Average Rating
6.6 out of 10
Metascore
24
Popularity
NA