"Bear... Bear... Big Bear... big bear chase meeeeeeee...!"
Chet Ripley (John Candy) and his family escape bustling Chicago for a relaxing vacation in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Things look good until Chet’s uninvited Brother In-law Roman (Dan Akroyd), his wife and their two kind of “creepy” twin girls show up at the Ripley’s cabin to surprise them. The pompous Roman manages to ruin all of Chet’s plans with his family. Roman turns everything into a contest bent on showing up Chet’s simpler approach to the vacation.
As a child of the 80’s, I watched this again with true nostalgia. Candy and Akroyd are a great comic duo who deliver on laughs in this slapstick comedy. If you have ever camped with your own family you might even be able to relate to some degree with this attempt for a memorable family bonding vacation. There are many humorous scenes in this movie, the chattering raccoons (with subtitles), the bald-headed killer bear of Claire County, the water skiing scene and the bat that surprises them in their cabin to reference a few. One of my favorites is when Chet is goaded into tackling the “old 96er” a 96 ounce hunk of beef that if he finishes they all get to eat for free but he must eat everything including the fat and gristle, ewww. This movie will always be a classic for me and it was a great one to watch to kick off the summer and camping season.
Motherly Advice: ClearPlay cut a lot of language and a short scene of an intimate nature. However, it was unable to get around some of the crude humor, smoking and minor kissing moments. With that being said I think with the help of ClearPlay this is still a great and funny family movie but probably best for kids 11 and up to enjoy.
Hannah – From the land of 10,000 Lakes
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