Having established himself through a string of supporting roles, John Candy took on his first Hollywood leading role in Carl Reiner’s Summer Rental. Kino Lorber Studio Classics released the film on Blu-ray earlier this year with a brand-new HD master utilizing a 4K scan from the original 35mm camera negative.

Air traffic controller Jack Chester (John Candy) is burned out and had an outburst on the job, so he’s ordered to take a five-week vacation. He packs up his wife Sandy (Karen Austin) and their children—14-year-old Jennifer (Kerri Green), eight-year-old Bobby (Joey Lawrence), and three-year-old Laurie (Aubrey Jene)—for a summer in the fictional town of Citrus Cove, Florida. What should be a relaxing getaway quickly turns into chaos, as the Chesters stumble into one misadventure after another.

Things worsen when Jack crosses paths with arrogant local sailing champion Al Pellet (Richard Crenna), who cuts ahead of them at a restaurant and soon becomes his nemesis. After the family winds up in a dilapidated beach shack, Al assumes ownership of the property and delights in tormenting them as landlord, threatening eviction when their rent runs out. While sailing with Bobby, Jack is injured during a collision with Al. He later gains an unlikely ally in The Barnacle (pirate ship-themed restaurant) owner Scully (Rip Torn), who helps him get back on his feet—literally and figuratively.

When Al pushes too far, Jack challenges him to a winner-take-all regatta: if Jack loses, he pays up and heads home; if he wins, the Chesters stay rent-free. With Sandy, Jennifer, Bobby, and Laurie pitching in, the family rallies around Jack and Scully to restore The Barnacle into a seaworthy contender. Against the odds—and with a few comic tricks up their sleeves—the Chesters score an underdog victory in –Summer Rental, proving this summer is anything but a washout.

On paper, the idea of an overworked air traffic controller being forced to take a vacation isn’t a bad setup. The premise is ripe for comedy, and the laws of the genre dictate that anything that can go wrong will go wrong—Summer Rental leans into this. Naturally, there’s a rival to contend with, and the film makes that conflict central to its plot. It also doesn’t hurt to have Alan Silvestri composing the score, though one can’t help but wish that the film were better.

Interestingly, the Paramount executives who first developed Summer Rental—Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg—had already left the studio before production began. You might think the project would stall, but new president Ned Tanen pushed it through, in part to fill a gap on the release calendar. And with comedy legend Carl Reiner directing, there was reason for optimism, especially as Candy’s profile continued to rise.

Summer Rental isn’t close to peak Reiner or peak Candy, but it does offer an early glimpse of what John Candy could bring to a leading role. Even if the film itself does not come remotely close to being great, he made the most of the material at hand.

Bonus Features

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joe Ramoni
• Ear Candy: The Music of Summer Rental – A NEW Featurette by Entertainment Journalist Max Evry (10:14)
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Carl Reiner
SCREENWRITERS: Mark Reisman & Jeremy Stevens
CAST: John Candy, Richard Crenna, Rip Torn, Karen Austin, Kerri Green, John Larroquette, Joey Lawrence, Aubrey Jene, Dick Anthony Williams, Richard Herd, Carmine Caridi, Lois Hamilton, Frank McCarthy, Santos Morales, Pierrino Mascarino, Harry Yorku, Bob Wells

Paramount Pictures released Summer Rental in theaters on August 9, 1985. Grade: 3/5

Please subscribe to Solzy on Buttondown and visit Dugout Dirt.