Summer Rental (1985)

"It's three bedrooms and it's on the beach. That's all I know."

Director

Carl Reiner

Cast

John Candy - Jack Chester
Karen Austin - Sandy Chester
Kerri Green - Jennifer Chester
Joey Lawrence - Bobby Chester
Richard Crenna - Al Pellet
Rip Torn - Richard Scully
Richard Herd - Angus MacLachlan

John Candy is one comedian I still miss. He died in 1994 at the age of 43 - the same age I'll be in just a few more months from now. 

I recall being shocked at the news of his death though I was 12 at the time. 

I have seen many a John Candy movie in my time, but "Summer Rental" is a flick I haven't seen until now. 

Though he appeared in several movies before this, "Summer Rental" is considered Candy's first starring role. 

It's a light comedy packed with a lot of talent. Not only does this movie star John Candy, it also has veteran actor Richard Crenna ("First Blood"), Kerri Green ("The Goonies," "Lucus"), a young Joey Lawrence, Rip Torn, and a brief scene with John Larroquette. 

Composer Alan Silvestri, who wrote music scores for some notable pictures such as "Back to the Future," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Forrest Gump," creates the music for this flick. And legendary comedian Carl Reiner sits in the director's chair. 

In this movie, Candy plays air traffic controller, Jack Chester, who is forced to take a much-needed paid vacation after he nearly causes a mid-air collision followed by an irate outburst all because a fly landed on his radar screen and blocked his view of a plane. 

The only alternative to taking a vacation is being fired from his job. 

So, Jack takes his wife Sandy (Karen Austin), their daughter, Jennifer (Kerri Green) and younger son, Bobby (Joey Lawrence), to the resort town of Citrus Cove, Fla., for some R & R. 

As expected, nothing goes right, beginning with dinner on their first night at a fancy seafood restaurant. 

Before they're even seated at a table, they get bumped in line thanks to a local sailing champion snob, Al Pellet (Richard Crenna). Not only does he cut in front of them, he also orders his entire table the rest of the fresh lobster which Jack was looking forward to having for dinner. 

After several mishaps, including the Chesters initially using the wrong house as their rental, the owner of their summer rental property dies and leaves the property to Al Pellet. 

He and Jack had a few previous unfortunate run-ins before, starting with that dinner. 

Jack offers Al a $1,000 check for another two weeks at the rental. But to spite Jack, Al rips up his check and tells him that he and his family have to get out in a few days.

John Candy in "Summer Rental."

Fed up, Jack challenges Al to a sailing race within the upcoming Citrus Cove Regatta. If Jack wins, Al has to return his check and let him stay in the house another two weeks rent-free. If Al wins, he can keep the $1,000 and he'll take his family back home. So, the race is on. Jack gets the help of local a local dive bar and restaurant owner, Richard Scully (Rip Torn) who has a pirate mentality. He teaches Jack how to sale and lets him use his barnacle covered boat which is in dire need to repairs. 

"Summer Rental" feels like a mix between "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983) with a little of Neil Simon's "The Out-of-Towners" (1970). 

As Candy told film critic Gene Siskel back in 1986, "We shot it too fast. We were trying to fill a time slot for Paramount." 

It shows! 

The editing is often haphazard and doesn't allow the comedy to progress well. For instance, in one scene, Jack is watching a golf game on TV while the rest of the family are at the movies. He lets the dog inside out of the rain. The dog turns and starts barking as if ordering Jack to go out and bring his bone for him out of the rain. 

Jack goes to fetch the dog's bone when the dog accidentally closes the door, locking Jack out in the wet. 

The audience gets a quick comedic reaction from Candy, and then the scene changes where Candy is back with his family obviously sometime later. These awkward cutaways occur several times in the movie. 

The movie has its funny moments, and John Candy's performance is top notch classic Candy. But it's not the funniest movie of his I've seen. That's mainly due to the poor pace of the movie right down to the sudden ending. 

"Summer Rental" is a modest comedy that's unfortunately put together too haphazardly. The jokes are there, and a lot of them work. The rest could play out memorably well if only the movie would take its time and let the jokes breath. Instead, it plows through the story at a weird pace. 

Nevertheless, I loved watching Candy. It's a significant role for him within comedy career. 

Sitting through "Summer Rental" made me want to revisit John Candy roles and introduce myself to those I have yet to see.