The 1980s saw a glut of disaster-vacation comedies - "National Lampoon's Vacation", "National Lampoon's European Vacation", "The Great Outdoors" and "Summer Rental" are just four that spring to mind. A common factor between most of these films is that many of them feature John Candy. He had just a short cameo in "National Lampoon's Vacation", and had to share the comic honours with Dan Akroyd in "The Great Outdoors". but "Summer Rental" is very much a starring vehicle for big John, and he is the best thing about this otherwise very obvious and predictable beachfront farce.
Overworked air traffic controller Jack Chester (John Candy) is ordered by his superiors to take a little time off after losing his nerve one day at work. Jack takes the opportunity to travel down to Florida for a summer vacation with his family - wife Sandy (Karen Austin), blossoming daughter Jennifer (Kerri Green), cheeky son Bobby (Joey Lawrence) and toddler Laurie (Aubrey Jene). Almost from the moment they arrive the vacation is a catalogue of disasters. Jack falls asleep on the beachfront and gets heavily sunburnt; the holiday home they think they've rented turns out to belong to someone else and they find themselves in a run-down shack instead; Jennifer starts getting a little too friendly with the local lifeguards; etc. etc. Jack also crosses swords with local playboy Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), little suspecting that Pellet actually owns the holiday home in which his family is staying. When Pellet orders the family to leave they are devastated, but Jack comes up with the idea of challenging Pellet by betting that he can defeat him in the annual sailing regatta. Problem is that Jack doesn't even have a boat, but he solves this by persuading local restaurateur Scully (Rip Torn) to convert his floating restaurant so that it can be used in the race!
This is Candy's film and he comes across affably as the parent whose determination to please his family usually ends in disaster. Austin is very good as his wife (surprising that she never went on to enjoy much of a career), while Crenna has obvious fun as the obnoxious playboy. Torn rounds off the principal players in a typically hammy but occasionally amusing role as a one-handed, piratical restaurant owner. "Summer Rental" loses marks in the script and story department because it's so thin and obvious. We've seen variations on this basic concept time and again, and the writers (Jeremy Stevens and Mark Reisman) and director (Carl Reiner) make no attempts to freshen up the familiar material. Also, the film's contrived climax is so improbable and sentimental that it provokes more groans than smiles. At least "Summer Rental" is a short film, so even when it slips into its periodic mawkishness it never really outstays its welcome. It's one of those films that you'll watch, you smile at from time to time, and then you'll forget.
Overworked air traffic controller Jack Chester (John Candy) is ordered by his superiors to take a little time off after losing his nerve one day at work. Jack takes the opportunity to travel down to Florida for a summer vacation with his family - wife Sandy (Karen Austin), blossoming daughter Jennifer (Kerri Green), cheeky son Bobby (Joey Lawrence) and toddler Laurie (Aubrey Jene). Almost from the moment they arrive the vacation is a catalogue of disasters. Jack falls asleep on the beachfront and gets heavily sunburnt; the holiday home they think they've rented turns out to belong to someone else and they find themselves in a run-down shack instead; Jennifer starts getting a little too friendly with the local lifeguards; etc. etc. Jack also crosses swords with local playboy Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), little suspecting that Pellet actually owns the holiday home in which his family is staying. When Pellet orders the family to leave they are devastated, but Jack comes up with the idea of challenging Pellet by betting that he can defeat him in the annual sailing regatta. Problem is that Jack doesn't even have a boat, but he solves this by persuading local restaurateur Scully (Rip Torn) to convert his floating restaurant so that it can be used in the race!
This is Candy's film and he comes across affably as the parent whose determination to please his family usually ends in disaster. Austin is very good as his wife (surprising that she never went on to enjoy much of a career), while Crenna has obvious fun as the obnoxious playboy. Torn rounds off the principal players in a typically hammy but occasionally amusing role as a one-handed, piratical restaurant owner. "Summer Rental" loses marks in the script and story department because it's so thin and obvious. We've seen variations on this basic concept time and again, and the writers (Jeremy Stevens and Mark Reisman) and director (Carl Reiner) make no attempts to freshen up the familiar material. Also, the film's contrived climax is so improbable and sentimental that it provokes more groans than smiles. At least "Summer Rental" is a short film, so even when it slips into its periodic mawkishness it never really outstays its welcome. It's one of those films that you'll watch, you smile at from time to time, and then you'll forget.