I remember Vegas Vacation being the first of the Chevy Chase vacation films that I ever saw. I randomly watched it on cable TV years ago and I watched it the other day on Netflix.

Clark Griswold gets the idea to bring his whole family on a Vegas vacation trip. Despite his two kids being under 21, and only able to legally enjoy the limited family friendly parts about Las Vegas, Nevada.

I definitely don’t remember Wayne Newton hitting on the mom very hard. I don’t know what’s more perplexing, the fact that Wayne Newton is oblivious about Clark or the fact that Clark doesn’t see the famous entertainer as a threat to his marriage.

Eventually he loses a great deal of the family’s money, but I definitely wouldn’t have blamed his wife for leaving him broke on the street in the Nevada sun and running to the doorstep of Wayne Newton.

One of my favorite parts about the movie is the son using a fake ID and wins about four different new cars. I wish I had that kind of luck at a casino.

I was always surprised that many people didn’t like this movie, critics and regular folks alike. It may not be inconceivable to think the movie isn’t universally likable but I find it hard to hate on the movie.