The National Lampoon Divorce Movie That Almost Happened

There’s probably a good amount of you out there who, in some capacity, either grew up with the National Lampoon Vacation films or even introduced them to your own family back in the day. At its core, the franchise’s central family has always been known to be the recipient of bad luck, responsible for poor choices, and held some of the most awkward holiday gatherings of all time, so you could definitely say that the franchise has delivered, (no matter how uncomfortable things can get along the way.)

As recent as 2015, the franchise has been revisited with cameos from none other than the leading couple Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo in the 2015 film Vacation — but based on the film’s cumulative reception, it seemed to lack the same punch as the Chase and D’Angelo led films throughout the years. However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t other discussions about bringing the duo back for another leading role, as recently discussed by one of the franchise stars themselves.

A Missed Opportunity for a Unique Vacation Film

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, while promoting her new film Violent Night, the iconic National Lampoon Vacation star explained some of the now-scrapped film’s premise, sharing, “I think the script by [Michael Rosenbaum] and [Chris Sullivan] started with Ellen and Clark outside of a courthouse where they’ve just gotten divorced! But their daughter is getting married, and she’s adamant that they show up in Arizona or wherever she’s living, so they have to go across the country and get back together.”

D’Angelo then elaborated, “And what’s odd is: isn’t that kind of the movie that George Clooney just made? Something like that? We saw it as, ‘Hey, it’s about Clark and Ellen and that family. Don’t we want to follow their story?’ But there’s something about demographics, and I think they didn’t want old people in it or something.”

Essentially, anyone behind that choice dropped the ball and completely underestimated a timeless interest in box office nostalgia. Thoughts?