Vacation (1983)

  I must have completely forgotten what it was like to have a baby when I decided to start this blog.  I don’t have time to watch any movies!  Oh sure, I spend a lot of time in front of the TV, but only for short periods of time.  I nurse the baby in front of the TV for fifteen to twenty minutes and then the second that baby is asleep, I am rushing to  do one or more of the following things: eat, sleep, pee, or shower – none of which are conducive to watching an hour and a half movie.  So instead, I wind up watching bits and pieces of daytime TV – which depresses me.  Sigh.

  A couple of nights ago, however, I came across a gem.  The Biography Channel had a two-hour special on the making of National Lampoon’s Vacation.  I recorded it and over the past couple of days have watched it in segments.  From this documentary, I have gained three new insights into one of my all-time favorite films.

1.   It wasn’t until after John Hughes’ death in 2009 that I learned that Vacation was his first screenplay.  On one hand, it made sense to me.  He is my favorite screenwriter and Vacation is one of my favorite movies.  But on the other hand, there is something about Vacation that doesn’t match the teen movies of his early career.  And then I found out why.  .  .

John Hughes’ original screenplay was written from the perspective of the two teenagers in the backseat of the Family Truckster!  Of course!  That’s the Hughes we know and love.

Harold Ramis, the director of Vacation, cast Chevy Chase as Clark W. Griswold and decided to capitalize on Chevy’s popularity and comedic talent by shifting the perspective from the kids to the father.  He and Chevy rewrote much of the dialogue to reflect this change.  I have no idea if this made for a better movie or not, but it certainly maintains Hughes’ status as the voice of the American teenager.  

       2.  John Hughes originally wrote this as a short story and someone at National Lampoon said it would make a great movie and someone else said it wouldn’t because it was too “episodic.”  This got me thinking about the plot structure of Hughes’ movies (because plot is my number one problem in my own writing). 

Hughes typically has a simple plot line that is held together by numerous episodes.  The Griswold family is on a journey to Wallyworld.  The Breakfast Club must complete an essay before the end of the day.  Ferris Buehler intends to skip a day of school without getting caught.  In Pretty in Pink, Andie wants a date to the prom.  These plotlines are unremarkable in and of themselves – every day sort of stuff, but it is the hilarious, over the top, or heart wrenching episodes that hold the stories together.  This should be my model for my own plot structures from now on.  I have the scenes; I just need to find that overarching quest to hold the story together.  It doesn’t have to be some extravagant adventure or crisis, just a common, every day want that my protagonist has.  This realization may have just changed my life.

Also, I love the word “episodic.”

3.  After Vacation was completed, the filmmakers showed it to a test audience who laughed uproariously until the last twenty minutes of the movie.  The original ending had Clark, upon learning that Wallyworld was closed, purchasing a pellet gun and a Hollywood map to the stars’ homes.  He found Roy Wally at his home and made him entertain his family at gun point.  One movie goer remarked, “We’ve been waiting the whole movie to see Wallyworld.  We want to see Wallyworld!”

So John Hughes was rehired to write a new ending to the movie in which the Griswold family got to enjoy Wallyworld, even though it was closed.  Everyone agreed the new ending was much more satisfying.

Which leads me to my last lesson learned from the Vacation documentary – you need an audience to know whether or not your writing works.  How do you know it’s funny if there’s no one to laugh at the jokes?  How do you know it’s heart wrenching if there’s no one to weep?  How do you know what needs to be fixed if there’s no one to tell you what is broken? My writing can only get so good with me working on it at home by myself.  If I want to take it to the next level, I have to put it out to test audiences.  Thank goodness I have a writers’ critique group now, and that is helping a lot.  But I need fans, too.  Just people who like to read to see what they think and to let me know if things are coming across the way I intend them to.  This is the hardest thing for me.  I hate putting a friend or family member in the position to read what I’ve written and have to tell me that the ending doesn’t work or the main character isn’t loveable, or your story has no plot.  But if I don’t, I run the risk of trying to sell a novel that just doesn’t work and I’ll never get anywhere doing that.

And, if anyone is still reading at this point, here is my original review of National Lampoon’s Vacation from 2009:

Tribute to John Hughes: Vacation

August 17, 2009 at 10:52am

Vacation (1983)

Favorite Quote This Time Around: "Come on, honey. We can't close our eyes to the plight of the city! Kids, you noticing all this plight?"

Character I Most Identify With: The mom

Friday nights at my dad’s house were “movie nights.” Blake and I got to pick the movies; Dad ordered the pizza. I remember one night when we had chosen “Vacation” for the 500th time. My dad said, “’Vacation’ again? You know there are other movies besides this one, right?” Yeah, we knew there were other movies, but we also knew NONE of them were as funny as this one!

I watched it again while I was packing for this summer’s family vacation to Yellowstone National Park. I think this movie might be the reason for my neurosis while planning and getting ready for any family vacation. I make lists, I make reservations, I double check first aid kits, I plan for any contingency. I make myself so crazy in preparation that I almost dread the actual trip. I pack more diapers than any human baby would ever need in one week’s time. I pack snacks as though we might be stranded in the woods for months with no convenience store in sight. I stash emergency entertainment throughout the truck, (which proved invaluable this time around).

I relate to “Vacation” on a whole new level now that I’m a parent. Poor Clark. He desperately wants to show his kids a good time, expose them to new sights, give them a vacation to remember, and not only does everything go wrong, but his kids don’t care about Dodge City, or Wally World, for that matter. I had to smile and shake my head while in the Upper Geyser Basin of YNP. Hayden sat with his back to the most active geyser basin in the entire world and played in the dirt and rocks. Justice was a million times more impressed with her ice cream cone than the eruption of Old Faithful.

Ultimately a family vacation is about spending time together as a family. The mishaps become part of the story that makes remembering the vacation fun. This vacation will always be remembered in our family as the vacation in which our plans coincided with the First Family’s. Not only did we see geysers, bison, and elk, we saw C5’s, Apache Helicopters, and Secret Service Agents. Can you imagine the packing list the Obamas need for family vacation?!

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Tribute to John Hughes: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

August 22, 2009 at 1:08pm

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Favorite Tirade: “I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.”

Character I Most Identify With: Cameron (“When Cameron was in Egypt’s land, let my Cameron go.”)

When is the last time you took a day off? Not HAD a day off, but TOOK a day off? And not took a day off because you had an appointment or to chip away at your to-do list, but took a day off and behaved like a tourist in your own city? It’s been a while since I’ve done it. I know that sounds a little snotty after being home for ten weeks, but it’s different when you don’t have to work. There’s something extra satisfying about doing something fun when you should be somewhere else. Like when they’re at the baseball game and Ferris says to Cameron, “Do you realize if we played by the rules we’d be in gym right now?” Then they giggle. That’s what makes this movie so great, because everybody can relate to the feeling of euphoria when you get away with something fun when you should be doing something else.

I do that in my classroom sometimes. It’s usually spontaneous and it’s usually in the spring. I look at my class and I say, “I don’t feel like it today.” And, of course, they say, “We don’t either,” and then we play a game instead of the lesson that was planned for the day. It’s way more fun than if I plan a game day. We all feel like we’re getting away with something together.

The truth is most of us are a lot more like Cameron than we are like Ferris. We are wound up tight and play by the rules for fear we’ll get in trouble. Sometimes we can’t even enjoy taking a day off because we feel guilty that we should be doing something else or we worry that we’ll get caught. This movie is really about Cameron. Through the course of his day off, he learns to be a little more like Ferris. We know at the end of the movie, that even though he’s just totaled his father’s Ferrari and is in more trouble than he has ever been in his whole life, he is more okay now that when he woke up in the morning.

So, here’s a challenge to all you Camerons out there: sometime in the next year, take a Ferris Bueller Day Off. Don’t plan it. One morning, you will wake up and think, “I don’t feel like it today.” Call in sick. Maybe call a friend or two and peer pressure them into joining you. Then go check out your own city with new eyes. Go somewhere nice for lunch. Join a parade. Don’t do anything productive. I think you will be better off. I really do.

On a final note: I started listening to the band, Save Ferris, simply because they named themselves after this movie. They do a great cover of Dexy Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen.”

Clerks II (2006)

Mommy Update:  I am halfway through my maternity leave.  I will return to work in five weeks.  I’m feeling very “matter of fact” about this.  I’m enjoying each and every day that I’m home and I intend to enjoy my work when I return.  

Writer/Director:  Kevin Smith

Favorite Quote from My First Viewing:  “Since God created man, and man created the Transformers, the Transformers are like a gift from God, Randal.” ~ Elias

Favorite Quote This Time Around:  “Say what you will about Jesus, but leave

“The Rings” out of this.”  ~ Elias

Homage to "Say Anything:"

I, like many others, was super skeptical when I heard that Kevin Smith was making “Clerks II.”  How could he sequelize such a uniquely, singular film as “Clerks?”  And ten years later?  What would that even look like? 

I totally should have known to trust Kevin Smith.  He didn’t try to remake “Clerks,” like many people feared he would.  He made a new movie, following the original characters ten years after their Quick Stop days.

Before I tell you what I learned from “Clerks II,” I must confess to you that I got a rejection letter today.  I have very very mixed feelings about it.

Over a year ago, I received a rejection letter from a literary agent regarding my first novel, but she included an offer to speak with me on the phone about my work.  During that phone conversation, I pitched the idea for my second novel and she was really excited about it.  It wasn’t finished, so  I spent four or five months revising it, then sent the entire novel to her.

While waiting for a response, I attended a writing conference where I had the opportunity to learn from published authors and literary agents.  I got to have a one on one critique with a professional editor.  During the one-week writing conference, I learned a ton.  I figured out how to fix my first novel; I realized that my second novel wasn’t quite ready for publication; and I got amazing feedback on my third novel.  I left the conference deciding to take a step back from submitting to agents and work more on my craft.  Since then I’ve been focusing primarily on my third novel.

It was a total shock to receive a rejection letter from my second novel because I sort of forgot that it was out there on submission.  I wasn’t surprised to see that it was rejected; I had already realized it wasn’t “ready.”  The agent was kind in her rejection, gave me very nice compliments, and was specific in her critique.  This is known as the very best kind of rejection, since most rejections are just form letters.

Still.  Rejection is rejection and it stings every time.  Every. Time.

In the “extras” section of the “Clerks II” DVD, Kevin Smith shows footage of a conversation between him, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino.  Smith invited the two other filmmakers over to see an early cut of “Clerks II” to get their feedback.  I thought this was super interesting because these three filmmakers are stylistically so so different, yet they each respect one another’s work and they’re friends, so it’s natural that they seek one another out for critiques.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized how valuable it would be to get critiques from filmmakers who work within different genres and styles.  I’ve found this in the critique group that has developed from the writing conference I attended.  All of the women in the group write young adult fiction, but some write historical fiction, some middle grade, some fantasy, some realistic.  Everyone’s eyes offer a different perspective and it has been monumentally helpful to begin to see my writing through other people’s eyes.  It helps me detach myself from my work.  I am not my novel.  When my novel is rejected, it’s not me that is rejected and that’s really helpful when nursing the “sting of rejection.”  More importantly, getting that critique helps me improve my work. 

My novels aren’t ready now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be ready someday.  And when they’re ready, I trust that I’ll find the right folks to help me find the right audience.  Or not.  If you looked into the future and you told me, “Michelle, you’ll never publish a novel.  It’s never going to happen.”  I would be disappointed, but I would still write novels.  I can’t seem to stop.  I don’t just write to get published; I write because it is insanely fun.  And because the characters in my head won’t stop demanding that their stories be told.  Yes, I hear voices in my head.  And writing the stories keeps me sane.

So, I got rejected today, but that’s okay.  I’ll write some more this afternoon.

Oh!  And so looking forward to "Clerks III," without reservation . . .

Rejection

Two nights ago (or whenever it was), I watched Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck’s commentary track of Jersey Girl.  They didn’t comment on the movie at all, but instead speculated as to why this movie was a commercial failure.

Every time I hear Kevin Smith refer to Jersey Girl as a “box office failure,” it breaks my heart.  I adore this movie and wouldn’t classify it as a failure in any sense.  After listening to the commentary, I realized that Kevin and Ben don’t classify it as a failure either, really.  It’s one of the movies of which they are most proud, but the lack of turn out in the movie theaters was still disappointing to them both.  Whether it was Ben’s relationship with Jennifer Lopez that overshadowed the movie or rejection from Kevin’s core fan base, or a combination of several factors, it left Kevin questioning the decisions he made in making the movie.  Ultimately, he says he doesn’t regret any of the decisions he made because he liked how the film turned out and any change in casting decision or editing change would have resulted in a different film.  In short, he stands by his work, even though it wasn’t as well received as he had hoped.  

This all got me thinking a lot about “rejection.”  To date, I have about thirty rejection letters from literary agents and countless no responses.  Often I think if just one agent would give me a break, then my work will be accepted and I won’t have to worry about rejection any more.  Not true.  Rejection takes many forms and it stings the most successful of writers as well as those of us who have yet to publish.

Let’s say an agent signs my novel.  He or she may never be able to sell it to a publisher.  Or let’s say it is sold to a publisher; there are dozens of things that could go wrong to prevent it from ever actually being published.  Or let’s say it is published and turned into a book; it might not sell.  Or it might sell, but it is lambasted by critics.  Or maybe it is heralded by critics and even wins awards; there will, undoubtedly, be the one negative review from a reader on Goodreads or Amazon that cuts me to the core.

And then there’s the next novel – or the third or the fourth – the whole cycle starts again with all of the rejection that comes along with it.  Rejection is inevitable when you put your words out into the world.  It’s part of the deal.  “Get a tough skin,” I keep hearing from those that would advise me.  But where do you get one?  Even if you’re Kevin Smith and it’s your sixth film, it still stings when someone doesn’t love what you’ve created.

Jersey Girl (2004) and She's Having a Baby (1988)

JERSEY GIRL (2004)

Writer/Director:  Kevin Smith

The Quote I Quote Most Often:   “You love me all the way to the moon and back down to the dirt.”  ~ Will Smith

Favorite Quote This Time Around:  “You’re riding in the Batmobile.  How cool is that?” 

 ~ Ollie Trinke (played by Ben Affleck, the new Batman)

Character I Most Identify With:  Ollie Trinke, because I know exactly how it feels to fight with a

seven-year-old

Nod to John Hughes:  Kevin Smith patterned this movie from John Hughes’s She’s Having a Baby.

Now that I have successfully survived childbirth, I was able to watch Jersey Girl.  If you’ve seen the beginning of this movie you will understand why I couldn’t watch it antepartum.  This movie is extremely different in tone from Smith’s previous movies.  It’s pretty clear that getting married and having a kid softened old Kev.  

And that’s what having kids does to us, doesn’t it?  It softens us and rearranges our priorities.  I once read that to have a child was “to forever have your heart walking around outside your body.”  That’s pretty much what this movie is all about.  It’s also about making peace with living in the suburbs, a theme I love and one found in She’s Having a Baby.  The protagonists in both of these movies have big dreams and feel like their lives are hindered by living in the suburbs.  

Sometimes living in the suburbs can make your life seem small.  You live in any old house on any old street and you’re pretty much doing what everyone else is doing.  Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t mean parenting.  Parenting is a big, important job filled with purpose, but sometimes the lawn mowing and the grocery shopping and the dish washing all feel a little mundane.

Ollie Tinke makes peace with the suburbs by sacrificing the big, glitzy career for staying in Jersey for his daughter, which ultimately helps him open his life to a new dream.  My dream has always been three-fold: to be a teacher, to be a mom, and to be a published author.  I achieved one and two, but was so afraid of failing at number three that I kept sabotaging my efforts.  Being a parent, however, helped me reclaim that dream.  I never want to tell my kids, “Mom had a dream once, but she was too afraid to try.”  If I want my kids to pursue their own dreams, I have to be willing to set the example.  So even though I have THREE kids now, and a full-time job, and a husband, and two dogs, and I live in the suburbs, I’m going to keep writing and keep putting my writing out there.  I’m going to keep dreaming.

And just for funsies, here is my review of She’s Having a Baby from 2009, which essentially says the same thing:

Tribute to John Hughes: She's Having a Baby

August 30, 2009 at 4:23pm

She’s Having a Baby (1988)

Favorite Quote: “People don’t mature anymore. They stay jackasses all their lives.” ~ Grandfather

Character I Most Identify With: Jefferson Edward Briggs (Jake) 

I had never seen this movie before now. I have been meaning to see it for a long time because Kevin Smith has said that this is his favorite of the John Hughes movies. He patterned “Jersey Girl” after it. I’m glad I haven’t seen it until now. Just as “The Breakfast Club” spoke to me as a teenager, this movie speaks to me as a new parent – and aspiring writer.

I am a sucker for movies and novels about writers. For as long as I can remember, and probably even before that, I have identified myself as a writer. Yet, until very recently, I didn’t actually write, at least not regularly. I’ve tried to write lots of times, but I give up after a few days in a fit of despair. Nothing I wrote ever seemed good enough to keep going.

In “She’s Having a Baby,” Jake writes all the time, but has nothing to say. That is, until he has a baby. I always felt like I had something to say, but rarely wrote. That is, until I had a couple of babies and no real time to write. This isn’t coincidence. Like Jake, it is because of my babies that I have become a writer. It doesn’t matter anymore if my writing is no good. It doesn’t matter whether or not my writing ever sees the light of day. What matters is that I try. It has always been my dream to write a novel and try to have it published. I’m attempting it now, because I never ever want my children to give up on their dreams. I’m writing now because I have to be the example for them that you can still pursue your dreams even if you live in the suburbs.