The Great Outdoors teams up Dan Aykroyd and John Candy in the John Hughes-penned comedy directed by Pretty in Pink’s Howard Deutsch.

Chicagoans Chet Ripley (John Candy), his wife Connie (Stephanie Faracy), and their sons Buck (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti) arrive at their rented Loon’s Nest cabin at Perk’s Pine Lodge and Pines Bar—owned by Wally (Robert Prosky) and Juanita (Zoaunne LeRoy)—in Pechoggin, Wisconsin, for a summer vacation. Their plans are disrupted when Connie’s sister Kate (Annette Bening), her investment banking husband Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd), and their twin daughters Mara (Rebecca Gordon) and Cara (Hilary Gordon) arrive uninvited. Tensions flare as Roman flaunts his wealth, cooking lobster instead of Chet’s traditional hot dogs, while Chet regales the family with a tale of surviving the legendary man-eating Bald-Headed Bear.

The next day, Chet faces more humiliation when Roman rents a speedboat and takes him waterskiing, while Buck misses a date with local girl Cammie (Lucy Deakins). Meanwhile, Connie learns that Kate is dissatisfied in her marriage, despite Roman’s affluence. A bat entering the cabin forces Chet and Roman to cooperate, but arguments escalate, causing the Craigs to depart. Before leaving, Roman offers Chet a $25,000 investment opportunity, which Chet reluctantly accepts…before we learn Roman is bankrupt due to bad investments.

During a thunderstorm, Kate discovers Mara and Cara are missing. Chet and Roman locate them at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft, and Roman must confront his claustrophobia to rescue the twins. Meanwhile, Chet encounters the Bald-Headed Bear, which rampages through Perk’s Pine Lodge before being subdued.

The ordeal ends on an upbeat note as the families part amicably. Buck and Cammie reconcile, and Chet reluctantly agrees to let the Craigs stay until they recover. The Great Outdoors features the main leads dancing at a bar to “Land of a Thousand Dances” during the end credits. The post-credits scene calls back the running gag with the raccoon family. They are discussing what happened to Jody and how she is “bald on both ends now!”

Aykroyd and Candy are among the finest actors and comedians to come out of Canada. They do their best to elevate John Hughes’s script, but the film doesn’t quite reach the caliber of many other Hughes-penned classics from the 1980s. It’s a shame, because a family vacation comedy featuring warring relatives has all the makings of a modern classic, yet The Great Outdoors spectacularly falls short of greatness. Still, despite the film’s shortcomings, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Roman Craig again if The Great Outlaws ever comes to fruition.

Rather than filming The Great Outdoors in Wisconsin—or Chicago and its surroundings, as Hughes’s works were often set—the production took place in Bass Lake, California. A local resort doubled for Perk’s Pine Lodge, while the Loon’s Nest cabin was built on the Universal Studios backlot. Of course, they had to change the ending due to, what else, a mechanical fish malfunction.

Before The Great Outdoors hit theaters, Aykroyd, Candy, and Young had appeared in Hughes’s rom-com She’s Having a Baby a few months earlier. Shared universes weren’t unprecedented for what it’s worth. A few days later, Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche reprised their Trading Places roles in Coming to America. Of course, both of those films were directed by John Landis.

The Great Outdoors delivers a mix of laughs and chaos, largely thanks to Candy and Aykroyd’s comedic chemistry. While the family hijinks and set pieces are entertaining, the story rarely fulfills its full potential. For fans of its stars or lighthearted summer comedies, it’s a fun watch, even if it ultimately lands as a memorable but imperfect outing.

DIRECTOR: Howard Deutsch
SCREENWRITER: John Hughes
CAST: Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, Chris Young, Lucy Deakins, and Robert Prosky

Universal Pictures released The Great Outdoors in theaters on June 17, 1988. Grade: 3/5

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