Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Great Outdoors Blu-ray Movie Review

Dear John...

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 9, 2016

Comedy hasn't been all that great since you passed. It's been in a big-time rut. Sure a few of the new laughers actually, y'know, make you laugh, but long gone are the days of your heyday, when movies like 'The Great Outdoors' delighted audiences with honest laughs, laughs made by your amazing screen presence, comedy grace, and perfect grasp of verbal timing married to physical prowess. Those mannerisms, those facial features...you could tell a story by standing there, sell a joke with a look, a swing of the arms, a hearty chuckle, make a movie simply with your name on the marquee. That name was a guarantee of quality. Nobody lit up the screen quite like you, John. Your catalogue of films stands as a reminder of Comedy's allure. You were the king of the mountain, the man by which most others of your kind were, are, and will continue to be compared. Thanks for the memories. You're missed, even after all these years.

Arrival.

Chet Ripley (John Candy) is taking his family -- wife Connie (Stephanie Faracy) and sons Buck (Chris Young) and Benny (Ian Giatti) -- on a weeklong retreat to a small wooded escape. They've packed the family Jeep and anticipate a relaxing week away from the stresses of everyday life. But not, apparently, the stresses of family. Turns out Connie's sister Katie (Annette Bening) is coming with her husband Roman (Dan Aykroyd) and twin daughters Cara and Mara (Hillary and Rebecca Gordon). Chet isn't too pleased. Roman, who flaunts his wealth and privilege over his brother-in-law's decidedly middle-class status, supersedes Chet at every turn. Chet's a good sport, but he has his limits. He's pushed, poked, and prodded, and pretty soon enough is going to be enough. But the family will have to pull together to avert crisis, all the while a few hard truths are revealed throughout the course of a wild week away from home.

The Great Outdoors may not be, subjectively for sure and by most measures objectively, the greatest film in the John Candy canon. It's not the sharpest-witted, not the best written, not the most creative. But it's comfortable. Few movies are so easy to love, so simple in their delights. There's not even much of a real structure to the movie. It's little more than a string of loosely-fitted vignettes, small sketches that involve spooky stories, smart aleck raccoons with a nose for trash, water skiing misadventures, family rivalries, a steak eating contest, young love, and a bit of bonding out in the rain and in the midst of a bear. The film doesn't ooze creativity for sure, but it's put together with a loving touch and an eye to the simpler of cinematic joys that serve only to allow the audience an escape, in this case to, as its title aptly suggests, the great outdoors where anything goes. While none of it is all that unexpected, it's in the delivery, the way the movie settles for its strengths and satisfies for the duration, that it finds its joys and staying power.

With the movie not really going out of its way to explore uncharted territory, it's up to the cast to kick it into high gear. With this ensemble, it's mission accomplished. Candy and Aykroyd are fabulous, one of the finest one-two punch tandems ever to grace the Comedy screen. The actors understand the characters and, more important to how the movie plays, their history and contrasting styles that put them at odds throughout. Candy's Chet is the more relaxed, fun-loving of the two. He's a man of simple pleasures -- hot dogs to his brother-in-law's lobster -- who just wants to enjoy some much-needed R&R with his family...or at least his wife and sons. When Aykroyd's Roman crashes the party, unannounced, the tension immediately seeps from Chet's bulging eyes and tensed muscles. He learns to live with it all, to a point. As more and more things go wrong -- usually with Roman in the middle, splitting up the family along the way and always leaving Chet somehow, some way, out to dry -- the strain on the relationship grows ever more dangerous, but the movie maintains its soft side through it all. These guys really dislike each other, but it's more, and for the most part, a healthy dislike, a genuine family rivalry that allows for enough pressure to eventually blow the lid off and lead to the conclusion while still keeping things fun enough to generate almost endless laughs through the growing tension.

The Great Outdoors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Great Outdoors' 1080p transfer isn't an eye-opener, nor is it a letdown. It's sometimes a little rough around the edges, appearing a bit overzealously processed in places where detailing in general, and skin textures in particular, is left a little smoothed down. However, the image satisfies more often than not. Light grain often hovers without much sense of intrusion. Details are never fully accentuating, but basics -- skin textures, fabrics, some of the more rustic wooden and accentuating objects around the frame -- pick up enough textural nuance to please. Colors are never punchy, more reserved than they are anything else, but basic natural greens, more brightly colored attire, and hues seen around town don't shirk away from duty. Black levels can be a bit overpowering. Shadowy corners exhibit crush, and a black bear seen at night is more globular than it is well defined. Flesh tones are a little pasty but not too far off track. Minor compression artifacts appear but rarely to any seriously distracting level. Visible print wear is evident, but negligible. This is a fair step up from the movie's standard definition DVD release, but it's not a revelation.

The Great Outdoors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Great Outdoors camps on Blu-ray with an effective DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is limited by its configuration and the source, but it presents the basics nicely enough. Music manages a fairly nice and wide spread to the sides rather than hunkering down towards the middle. It's rather active and robust, all things considered, with decent enough detailing through the score. Support effects, like driving rain, are a bit muddled, but the basic sonic shape is fine and delivery again seeps fairly wide across the front. The movie is mostly dialogue intensive, however, and there are no issues of note with its delivery. It's clear and detailed with a natural center imaging placement.

The Great Outdoors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included is the theatrical trailer for The Great Outdoors (480i, 1:42). No top menu is included. The trailer, as well as audio and subtitle options and chapter selections, must be accessed in-film via the pop-up menu.

The Great Outdoors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Great Outdoors doesn't stretch the Comedy medium, but it's a comfortable old favorite that offers up healthy laughs thanks to a fantastic cast, chiefly the pairing of John Candy and Dan Aykroyd. They're golden, and they elevate otherwise pedestrian Comedy material into a hugely enjoyable time waster, sprinkled with several classic moments. Universal's Blu-ray is most welcome, though it could stand a little bump in quality. Supplements are limited to a crummy-looking 480i trailer. Video isn't bad, but it's not great. Same with audio. Recommended, though only on the strength of the movie and a decent, but not serious, upgrade in picture over the DVD.