National Lampoon's European Vacation is a 1985 comedy movie that serves as a direct sequel to National Lampoon's Vacation. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprise their respective roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold, while Dana Hill and Jason Lively assume the roles of the Griswold children. It also stars Victor Lanoux, Eric Idle, and Guest Stars John Astin, Paul Bartel, Maureen Lipman, Willy Millowitsch, Mel Smith, and Moon Zappa.
After the Griswold family accidentally wins a European vacation courtesy of the popular game show Pig in a Poke, Clark drags them out of the house once again to see as many sights as possible in the iconic locations of London, Stonehenge, Paris, Germany and Rome.
European Vacation provides examples of…
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- The Alleged Car: The Citroën DS they use on the Continent has the usual Griswold-car body add-ons as well as mainly being used with its suspension at full height. The Austin Maxi they used in the UK, however, was 100% stock.
- Ambiguous Family Ties: The Griswolds pass through Germany to visit some distant relatives, who are kind hosts, albeit continually confused by the Language Barrier. After they leave, the German couple admit to each other that they have no damn clue who they were; the Griswolds had come to the wrong house.
- Appeal to Obscurity: Discussed by Mrs. Froeger when her family gets to pick the next question on Pig in a Poke. One available category is "Early Hungarian cabinet-making" and she suggests choosing it because "no one knows anything about Hungarians".note
- Balloon Belly: During the flight, Audrey has a nightmare in which she starts to gorge on European foods and becomes so fat that she can't get out of her chair.
- Bilingual Bonus:
- Parts of the movie not in English are untranslated. One such scene is when Clark tells a German man that he and his family are looking for "sechs" (pronounced "zex" it is the German word for "six" and the house number of Clark's relatives), but Clark pronounces it "looking for sex". The man slams the door in his face while calling him "Schweinehund!", a German insult that literally means "pig dog".
- When they have dinner with the elderly German couple, the man asks, "Maybe they are Hermann's kids with the woman he was married to in Hamburg?", and his wife replies, "But he never had kids".
- Blatant Lies: Russ describes his parents to a girl in Rome as "normal parents".
- Call-Back:
- Clark screams when he sticks his feet in a cold fountain, similarly to how he screamed when he jumped in the cold pool in the original vacation.
- He also spends much of the trip wearing a Wally World sweater.
- “Great! Are you happy Dad? She’s dead!”
- Characterization Marches On: Rusty and Audrey take on very different personalities than in the first installment. Audrey possesses newfound Big Eater tendencies while Russ is obsessed with music, MTV, and girls.
- Chekhov's Gag: The video of Ellen performing "Big Spender" in a Modesty Towel which also includes her and Clark having sex. After a man in France steals Clark's camcorder, later in Italy, the Griswolds later find a billboard of the video La Donna nella Doccia (Woman In The Shower).
- Damsel in Distress: Ellen gets drunk in Rome and is kidnapped by a man trying to get a hold of her car keys.
- Deadpan Snarker: All of the Griswolds have their moments. When Clark tries getting a family picture in Paris, even Rusty's not immune.Rusty: Yeah, the Griswolds in front of a fountain. Major entertainment.
- Drives Like Crazy: Clark puts these skills to use in the climactic Chase Scene in Rome.
- Game Show: The Griswolds win their trip to Europe on a game show called Pig in a Poke.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: A French waiter insults the family, makes lewd comments about Ellen and Audrey, and tells Clark to "Go fuck yourself", with him oblivious as always and thinking the waiter is a real stand-up guy.
- High-School Sweethearts: Ellen states verbatim that she and Clark filled this role, and even waited until they planned to get married to have sex.
- Ignore the Fanservice: Ellen shows Clark the sexy outfit she purchased in Paris and pleads that she and Clark spend some alone time in the hotel. Clark, however, is intent on taking her out for a romantic, cultured night on the town.
- Imagine Spot: Each of the Griswolds has one during the flight to London.
- Ellen dreams about meeting the British Royal Family and Princess Diana getting jealous of her for being with Clark.
- Rusty dreams about being a pop star at a club.
- Audrey has a nightmare in which she gets fat from European meals.
- Clark has a The Sound of Music-style dream of his family in the Alps.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Curiously, this is the only installment in the series to spell the central family's name as "Griswald", as the rest of the movies credit the characters as "Griswold".
- It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Or Oktoberfest in Germany. Note that when the Griswolds escape, the train station says the town is Battenberg, which is in Rhineland-Palatinate. Oktoberfest is a Bavarian festival.
- Left It In: Before the family leaves for their trip to Europe, Clark videotapes Ellen while she's taking a shower, who then tells him to delete it after he's finished. The family gets their camera stolen by a thief while they're in France; when they arrive in Rome, Ellen then discovers that Clark did not delete the video of her in the shower at all, when she sees a poster advertising a movie that starred her. Apparently, the thief discovered the video after he stole the camera and advertised it as a movie.
- Major Injury Underreaction: The man who was riding a bike whom Clark hits with his car is covered with scrapes, but brushes it all off. When he begins spurting blood from his wrists, he states that it's just a flesh wound. Oh, yeah, and he's played by Eric Idle.
- Makeover Montage: The Griswolds go through one in Rome when they go through a bunch of new outfits to try on.
- Modesty Towel: Clark records Ellen's dance while she wears nothing but a towel.
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- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: The Bavarian man, who the Griswolds mistake for their relative, is played by Willy Millowitsch, an iconic folk actor from Cologne. He speaks with his usual strong Colognian accent.
- Not So Above It All: Ellen once again tries to play the role of the Only Sane Man on their family vacation, but after her Rage Breaking Point listed below, she goes back to their hotel to get plastered.
- Oddball in the Series: European Vacation is the only Vacation movie not to feature Cousin Eddie and his family.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Uttered by Eric Idle himself.
- Partially-Concealed-Label Gag: Clark takes the family on a side trip from their game show prize vacation to visit their relatives in Germany. They're looking for house six ('6') and it appears they found it and introduce themselves to the couple living there. Just after they step inside, a leaf falls away from the number sign, revealing that it actually says sixteen ('16'). Clark and his family stay with the couple for a night and leave without ever noticing the couple was not their relatives.
- Photo Montage: The ending credits set to Network's "Back in America", showcasing the symbols of 1980s Americana that the Griswolds are returning to after their adventures across the Atlantic.
- Popping Buttons: Audrey's Imagine Spot in which she gets fat from European desserts.
- Post-Stress Overeating: After learning she doesn't have to stay thin for Jack anymore, Audrey begins gorging herself at the hotel restaurant.
- Rage Breaking Point: Clark lies to Ellen about deleting her Modesty Towel dance on their camera before it was stolen. Eventually, the family comes across a pornographic movie poster obviously referring to the video and featuring Ellen as the star. She is not amused.
- Real Award, Fictional Character: The film opens with the Griswolds facing off with a family of geniuses on a game show. The parents are both Nobel Prize winners and the kids are no less brilliant. The Griswolds win anyway… by accident.
- Recycled with a Gimmick: The basic theme is the same, a family traveling together and experiencing every possible problem, setback, and trauma, now just in Europe.
- "Rediscovering Roots" Trip: Parodied when the Griswolds make a stop to visit their German relatives. They have a wonderful time and feel more connected to their roots than ever… except that the couple they visited weren't actually relatives; Clark found the wrong house.
- Rental Car Abuse: When Clark Griswold rents a Citroën DS, he accidentally drives it into a too small gap and it gets stuck.
- Shout-Out: The page quote above demonstrates a very blatant one to The Sound of Music.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts:
- Audrey and her boyfriend Jack are seen making out for much of Jack's limited screen time. She spends the rest of the vacation pining for him.
- The couple who's honeymooning in Europe is also very engrossed in each other. Russ thinks they're about to have sex in public, and upon a second glance Clark tells him it's possible.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: All four members of the Froegers, the opposing family who have never lost on Pig in a Poke, sport a pair.
- Special Guest: The opening titles list John Astin, Paul Bartel, Maureen Lipman, Willy Millowitsch, Mel Smith, and Moon Zappa as "GUEST STARS".
- The Theme Park Version: Everything in Europe is exactly how you'd expect it to be, assuming you're an American who's never been there and who relies solely on National Stereotypes.
- Train Escape: After causing a riot at Oktoberfest, the Griswolds make a beeline for the train station to get out of Germany.
- "Ugly American" Stereotype: Father Clark Griswold is The Fool who shepherds his family across a whirlwind tour of Western Europe, mother Ellen tries to be the Only Sane Man, and the Griswold children are disgusted at being dragged through a continent-sized Weirdoland. This family tends to make themselves personae non gratae wherever they go, causing mayhem and trouble everywhere with their ignorance.
- Undying Loyalty: Though Rusty is less supportive of Clark's endeavors this time around, he ditches a topless blonde to come to his father's aid when Clark is at risk of being hanged. He gripes about it later, of course, but he once again joins his father in the climactic Chase Scene, proving his dedication.
- Unlucky Extra: A random English tourist (played by Eric Idle), is always on the receiving end of any kind of accident inflicted upon him by the Griswolds. In fact, he even appears again in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure, during the airport scene.
- Vague Age: Rusty actually averts this trope, stating his age to be fifteen. Audrey is still only implied to be younger until Christmas Vacation clearly portrays her as an older sister.
- Wrong Lane Hijinks: The Griswold family runs into the problem while driving a car round the center of London, with their vehicle swerving violently around a loop until Clark is able to realign his driving.