Vacation

Synopsis: The Griswold family are on a quest. A quest to a Walley World theme park for a family vacation, but things aren't going to go exactly as planned, especially when Clark Griswold is losing all thought towards a mysterious blonde in a red Ferrari.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Director(s): Harold Ramis
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures
 
IMDB:
7.4
Metacritic:
55
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
R
Year:
1983
98 min
5,409 Views


"I found out long ago"

"It's a long way down a Holiday Road"

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick"

"Going to take a ride

to the West Coast, kids"

"Holiday Road!"

"Holiday Road!"

"Holiday Road!"

"Holiday Road!"

"I found out long ago"

"It's a long way down a Holiday Road"

"Holiday Road"

"Holiday Road"

"Holiday Road"

Clark Griswold.

I'm trading my wife's old car in.

Say good-bye

to the old gas-guzzler, Russ!

It's pretty exciting, isn't it, Rusty?

What's that, Dad?

Picking up the new car!

You can't wait, can you?

Hi there, Ed!

Good to see you, Mr. Griswold!

How are you doing?

Rubin right?

Rusty.

Look at him. He can't wait.

So, did you bring your trade-in?

Yes, a guy just took it away

a couple of seconds ago.

Well, let's get to it, then.

We were worried that the new car

might not be ready yet.

We're on our way to California

in the morning...

...big vacation, the whole family,

Walley World...

Walley World? Very exciting, Clyde.

Clark.

Well, there she is.

Where?

Right here. The wagon.

Dad, this is not the car you ordered!

Take it easy, Rusty.

Ed, this is not the car I ordered.

I distinctly ordered the Antarctic Blue,

Super Sportswagon...

...with the C.B. and the optional

Rally fun pack.

You didn't order the Metallic Pea?

Metallic Pea? No, Antarctic Blue.

The Sportswagon.

This isn't even the right model!

You know, I think you're right.

I don't think this is the car.

This is the new

Wagonqueen Family Truckster.

This is a fine automobile,

if you want my honest opinion.

It beats the hell out of

the Sportswagon but...

...I want to make you happy.

Davenport!

I'll get to the bottom of this.

Mr. Griswold ordered a blue Sportswagon.

Where is it?

I don't know, sir.

I know what must have happened!

It didn't come in!

Ed, I'm not your ordinary,

everyday fool. Okay?

Now, I'd like my Antarctic Blue

Super Sportswagon right now.

If you can't get it for me,

I'm going to take my business elsewhere!

Where's my old car?

I'm just as upset as you are.

Believe me.

Davenport!

Get Mr. Griswold's car back!

Bring it back here!

And I can get you the wagon,

there's no problem there.

The problem is, it might take six weeks.

Now, I owe it to myself

to tell you, Mr. Griswold...

...if you're thinking of taking

the tribe cross-country...

...this is the automobile

you should be using.

The Wagonqueen Family Truckster.

You think you hate it now,

but wait until you drive it.

I don't want to drive it.

I just want my old car back, okay?

I'm not falling for this bit.

No way. Let's go, Russ.

Clark, is that the right car?

No, it isn't, honey. I changed my mind.

They flattened our old car

like a pancake.

Are you serious?

Is this really our car, Dad?

What happened? I thought we were

going to get the little Sportswagon.

Oh, no!

The Sportswagon's much too small.

Besides, I got a great deal on this one.

Believe me, we're taking

the whole tribe across country.

This is your automobile.

Why is it still running?

Oh, all new cars do that.

I'll take care of that in a second.

You may think you hate it now,

but wait until you drive it.

An air bag!

You know, Clark, it's not too late

to fly out to California.

We only have two weeks.

Let's not get into that again,

sweet pie. Please?

Lots of families fly, Clark.

Especially cross-country.

The idea of a family vacation

is to be together as a family.

On a plane, you put on earphones

and you're lost in your own world.

It's a very long drive, Clark.

I'm looking forward to a long drive.

You get to see the kids all the time!

I only see them a few minutes

in the mornings and evenings...

...and a few hours on the weekends.

Someday I'll wake up and realize

my babies have grown up!

And then what?

I just thought it would be

easier to fly.

Nothing that is worthwhile

is easy, Ellen.

We know that.

Kids?

Do you want to see the trip plan?

Not now, we're playing a game!

Okay, shut off the video games.

Come on, Russ. Shut it off.

I know you'll enjoy this. I've worked

out the whole trip on the computer...

...so that we get the maximum amount

of fun time at Walley World...

...without missing any

of the good stuff along the way.

Here we go! There's us.

And there's Walley World!

Now, let's just take a look at Day One.

Shall we?

Honey, come on in!

We're going to do Day One!

Okay, now, there's the Family Truckster

as we leave Chicago.

Rusty, please, do not eat the Truckster!

Russ, do you mind? I'm trying to work

this out here on the computer.

Okay, Audrey. Thank you, Audrey.

That's just great.

Look out, Dad, here I come.

All right, that's enough, Russ.

Okay, now,

I think we're moving further...

Good shot, Audrey.

Dad, I forgot. Why aren't we flying?

Because getting there is half the fun!

You know that!

I turned off the water,

the stove, the heat and the air.

Locked the door and notified the police.

Stopped the newspapers.

I called to get the grass cut.

Did I put the timers

on the living room lights?

Don't forget the mail...

So long!

Drive careful now, Clark!

Watch those freeways!

Good-bye!

I know I've forgotten something.

Walley World, here we come!

"Mockingbird, tell me, everybody

"Have you heard?

"He's gonna buy me...

"A mockingbird

"And if that mockingbird don't sing

"He's gonna buy me a diamond ring

"And if that diamond ring don't shine

"He's surely gonna break

this heart of mine

"And that's why I keep on singin'

"Did you hear now... "

Come on, kids.

We don't know any of your songs!

Dad, is that made up?

It sounds made up!

I know a song!

How about

"The Walley World National Anthem"?

Okay, you start it.

"Who's the moosiest moose we know?

Marty Moose!

"Who's the star of our favorite show?

Marty Moose!

" 'M' is for merry,

we're merry, you see

" 'O' is for 'O' gosh!

'O' golly! 'O' gee!

" 'S' is for super-swell family glee

" 'E' is for everything you want to be

"M-A-R-T-Y

"M-O-O-S-E

"What's that spell?

"Marty Moose, Marty Moose, Marty Moose

"That's me!"

All right! That's more like it!

Here's one you don't know.

We used to sing it

when you were little kids.

"Jimmy crack corn

And I don't care... "

"Swing low...

"Sweet chariot...

"Comin' for to carry me home

"I looked over Jordan

and what did I see?

"Comin' for to carry me home"

What smells in here, honey?

Russ! Russ! Your feet.

Isn't this the gas tank?

Yes, I know, honey.

Get in the car.

I'm just fixing the license plate.

Do you see that, kids?

That's the St. Louis Arch.

The Gateway to the West.

It's over 600 feet tall, and there's

an elevator all the way to the top.

Dad, can we go up on it?

No.

Dad, what river is this?

That's the Mississippi.

The mighty Mississip.

The old Miss...

The old man...

Clark, I think this is the wrong exit.

What's the difference,

as long as we get across the river?

Clark? What are you doing?

Just relax, Ellen.

This is so dangerous!

We have no business being

in an area like this!

This is a part of America

Rate this script:2.0 / 1 vote

John Hughes

An American filmmaker. Beginning as an author of humorous essays and stories for National Lampoon, he went on to write, produce and sometimes direct some of the most successful live-action comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s. Most of Hughes's work is set in the Chicago metropolitan area. He is best known for his coming-of-age teen comedy films which often combined magic realism with honest depictions of suburban teenage life. more…

All John Hughes scripts | John Hughes Scripts

3 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Vacation" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/vacation_22687>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Vacation

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    Which part of a screenplay provides a detailed description of the setting, actions, and characters?
    A Action lines
    B Character arcs
    C Dialogue
    D Scene headings