Comments on: Holiday Road!

Holiday Road!

Ogre Lawless — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:25:25 -0800

Did you know that the Vacation series of movies were inspired by a story in the September 1979 edition of the National Lampoon entitled Vacation '58? The writer then was little known, but would go on to create some of the seminal jems of the 80s teen film genre and then devolve into poor commercial crap, but what career doesn't?

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:29:55 -0800

I did know that.

By: grubi

grubi — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:30:37 -0800

Not to be a smartass, but, yeah, I knew that too. Not that this isn't a perfectly fine post, though. Thanks.

By: wfc123

wfc123 — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:31:07 -0800

I knew it, just like I knew the Orbitz web site would pop up when I clicked on the link.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:32:44 -0800

It is a very funny story.

By: wfc123

wfc123 — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:33:04 -0800

A great read and better than any of the films. Thanks.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:34:51 -0800

I did not know that either.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:51:49 -0800

I knew that, too; and I had copies of all those 1978 issues, as well as most of those from the preceding three years. Damn you, stereotypical throwing-out-the magazines mother!

By: hal9k

hal9k — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:59:59 -0800

I even knew that Lyndsey Buckingham wrote Holiday Road. And he used to be married to a witch.

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:05:19 -0800

It's posts like this that make me love MetaFilter so much.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:29:01 -0800

The career arc of John Hughes and Richard Curtis are similar in that both started out writing really savage, funny stuff, then as they became very successful, devolved into mawkish pabulum.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:31:52 -0800

Jems?

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:37:27 -0800

Jems.

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:37:44 -0800

seminal jems?

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:37:55 -0800

That was great. *remembers when the Lampoon was the cat's pajamas*

By: Opposite George

Opposite George — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:50:16 -0800

I did kind of know that, at least once, but thanks for reminding me. And that link to the story is sweet. Still, none of that excuses John Hughes for Home Alones 1 - Avogadro's No. seminal jems Truly outrageous. Truly, truly truly outrageous

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:01:08 -0800

OG: hey, Home Alone 3.012x10¹⁴ was pretty good. At least towards the beginning. The first thirty minutes, were, I guess. No, I guess it sucked too.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:36:06 -0800

Seminal jems?

By: Gucky

Gucky — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:39:16 -0800

Until I read the original Ferris Bueller script, I thought John Hughes was a blight on humanity. Now I realize he's just a guy who was relevant... once, a long time ago, before he fell prey to HOME ALONE, BEETHOVEN, etc., etc. FERRIS: My uncle went to Canada to protest the war, right? On the Fourth of July he was down with my aunt and he got drunk and told my Dad he felt guilty he didn't fight in Viet Nam. So I said, "What's the deal, Uncle Jeff? In wartime you want to be a pacifist and in peacetime you want to be a soldier. It took you twenty years to find out you don't believe in anything?" (snaps his fingers) Grounded. Just like that. Two weeks. (pause) Be careful when you deal with old hippies. They can be real touchy. Thanks for this.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:09:04 -0800

JEM? Seminal jems? IMDB ratings: (3.58) - Beethoven's 3rd (2000) (V) (3.69) - Beethoven's 5th (2003) (V) Comeback city!

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:40:28 -0800

Jems, too, which I thought was hi-fucking-larious back when I was an EMT.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:22:38 -0800

> Comeback city! This is self-limiting, in a sense, since Beethoven only wrote 9. Now, if he had a photogenic mutt names Haydn... Haydn wrote 104.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:59:46 -0800

Speaking of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, another fun fact: the parking attendant, that weird guy who takes the Ferrari out for fun, is the drummer on Sonic Youth's early (and awesome) self-titled e.p.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:02:00 -0800

His name is Richard Edson.

By: snsranch

snsranch — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 17:40:18 -0800

His name is Richard Edson. Wow, I thought he looked familiar! Thanks for the post. Because, I did not know that!

By: smeger

smeger — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:27:01 -0800

I did not know that. And it's fucking awesome! Thanks!

By: grubi

grubi — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 20:26:52 -0800

I recognize Mr Edson from other films (Good Morning, Vietnam comes to mind), but he really was the drummer on their early stuff? I now have more respect for him (to add to my already considerable respect). Rock on, sir. Rock ON.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 22:37:49 -0800

Yeah. Found some corroboration. Go here. (Allmusic.com is great.) I always thought that guy must be great to have at parties. "Yeah, I was in Sonic Youth... and Ferris Bueller." Almost everybody of a certain age is bound to like one of those things.