Summer Rental
1985
Action / Comedy

Summer Rental
1985
Action / Comedy
Plot summary
Jack Chester, an overworked air traffic controller, takes his family on vacation to the beach. Things immediately start to go wrong for the Chesters, and steadily get worse. Jack ends up in a feud with a local yachtsman, and has to race him to regain his pride and family's respect.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Boy do I really miss John Candy films. RIP John, you were on top of the comedy world when we lost you prematurely
Feels like something's been cut out
At 86 minutes and half a dozen subplots not being wrapped up or developed in any way at all. For example the subplot involving John Laroquette is never given the chance to become anything. His whole presence in the movie is totally pointless and I suspect there was a whole 'Candy's wife may be cheating on him' plot that was cut out because it just too similar Chase/D'Angelo in Vacation.
We never know what happens to Richard Crenna or Rip Torn after the Regatta and we never know how the rest of the Summer Rental went. It's like the writers knew there was no plot, chucked in this Regatta crap and thought that would be a good place to end the film when it's over. And what was wrong with the popcorn Candy and Crenna eat? I found that pretty weird.
Although I have already made comparisons to Vacation I still feel like this film is good enough without being a copycat movie. It's seems more realistic and doesn't have any slapstick humor. Candy feels more like a real guy who needs a real vacation. We want him to relax but still can't help laughing when everything goes wrong. My fave scene is when he returns home to find it transformed into some kind of free-for-all Funhouse.
But for a film set in Florida there is a huge lack of nice scenery and the photography isn't so cool. I wonder why Kerri Green (who starred in The Goonies the same year) never made another mainstream movie tho. Joey Laurence did so why not her?
If you like comedies, but hate the scatological humor that most present day comedies have, then this is a good enough escape. I miss John Candy and wish he made more movies before he died.