The Great Outdoors (1988) - Deutch's low-brow comedy does the job

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A fun, magazine-styled poster for Howard Deutch's The Great Outdoors

A lovely family has headed off to vacation in a forest log cabin in Wisconsin, when their very different sister-in-law and her family turn up. - Will they be able to stand each other?

The Great Outdoors is written by John Hughes (Flubber (1997)) and directed by Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink (1986)).

Stars John Candy (Stripes (1981)) and Dan Aykroyd (Unconditional Love (2002)) do what they can, while debuting Annette Bening (Being Julia (2004)) cackles her way through the film in the background. But there isn't much meat in this Hughes vegetable: There is a romance side story about two youths that's DOA. And then, well, what can one say about a film that's got eating a gigantic steak and killing an odd indoor bat as two of its significant plot points?

The Great Outdoors has good-looking bear scenes (with Bart the Bear (The Bear (1988))) and works as cozy entertainment, but it has lost lots of goodwill before its improbable ending binds a peculiar bow on the shenanigans. The Great Outdoors is no-one's best work.

 

Watch a clip from the film here

 

Cost: 24 mil. $

Box office: 43.4 mil. $ 

= Big flop (returned 1.80 times its cost)

[The Great Outdoors was released 17 June (USA) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Chicago, Illinois and in California from October - December 1987. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Red Heat and holdover hit Big, to a 6.1 mil. $ in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#3) and grossed 41.5 mil. $ (95.6 % of the total gross). The film seems to have had been given a very limited international release, which also is reflected in its numbers. Deutch returned with Tales from the Crypt (1989-90)) and theatrically in Article 99 (1992). Candy returned with a voice performance in Hot to Trot (1988) and physically in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989); Aykroyd in Caddyshack II (1988). The Great Outdoors is rotten at 40 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Great Outdoors?

Dahmer (2002) - Jacobson's flawed serial killer movie lives on strong performances

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+ Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner looks at us with a reddish eye on a poster for David Jacobson's Dahmer that obviously tries to attract audiences with a clear resemblance to the poster for Ridley Scott's much larger cannibal hit movie Hannibal (2001)

QUICK REVIEW:

Dahmer presents an unchronological portrait of the notorious Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in a series of scenes from his disturbed life that showcase his alienation, early sexual disturbance and extreme antisocial tendencies.

Dahmer, the second feature by writer-director David Jacobson (Criminal (1994)), starts out promising with a possible metaphor in Dahmer's employment at a chocolate factory, but the scenes have no follow-up.
After watching the film one can't claim to understand the title character any better, and the film is not very informative as a biopic might have been. It seems to conclude that Dahmer's murder sprees abound in something to do with sexual perversion and intimacy issues, which make him kill, but this also remains fairly unclear.
Dahmer still retains interest due to the fine performances in it: Jeremy Renner (The Immigrant (2013)) is outstanding in the title role; Bruce Davison (Words and Pictures (2013)) is good as his father, and Artel Great (The Soloist (2009)) is charismatic and excellent as Dahmer's victim Rodney, whose experience with him provides the film its through-line. The film has its share of troubling scenes, rightly so, SPOILER of which particularly the one with the head in the father's old boxes is a kicker.

 

Related post:

 

 2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

In lieu of a trailer for the film, which is not currently on Youtube, here's a 90+ minute edit of the real-life trial of Jeffrey Dahmer. Be advised that this is not only informative about Dahmer but also, naturally, highly troubling

Cost: 0.25 mil. $
Box office: 0.14 mil. $
= Huge flop
[Dahmer was released June 21 and runs 102 minutes. It was shot in LA and Milwaukee with the names of the victims changed out of respect. Renner was chosen because of his likeness to Dahmer, and his performance won him his Oscar-nominated part in The Hurt Locker (2008). Dahmer opened #55 with 16k $ in North America in 2 cinemas, topping later in 5. It was released straight-to-DVD in most other markets. Great and Renner were nominated for Independent Spirit awards for their performances in the film, which was also nominated for the John Cassavetes award at the event. Dahmer is fresh at 68 % with a 6.4 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Dahmer?