After a blow-up at work, air traffic controller John Chester (John Candy) is given five weeks of paid leave. He takes his family to Florida, where they rent a beach house and discover that their summer town is controlled by snobbish sailing champion Al Pellett (Richard Crenna). It’s the snobs vs slobs as Pellett tries to kick John and his family out of their summer rental and John tries to prove himself to his son and daughter (Joey Lawrence and Kerri Green) by winning the local sailing championship. Luckily, John has Sully (Rip Torn), a modern-day pirate captain, on his side.
John Candy was a remarkable talent. It’s just a shame that he didn’t appear in more good films. He will always be remembered for films like Splash, Uncle Buck, Planes, Train, and Automobiles, and Only The Lonely but unfortunately, most of his starring roles were in lightweight, forgettable far like Summer Rental. Candy is likable as John Chester and sympathetic even when he’s losing his temper over every minor inconvenience. But the film itself never really does much to distinguish itself from all of the other 80s comedies about middle class outsiders taking on the richest man in town. Candy is stuck playing a role that really could have been played by any comedic actor in 1985. It’s just as easy to imagine Dan Aykroyd or even Henry Winkler in the role. It feels like a waste of Candy.
The best thing about the film is Rip Torn’s performance as Sully. Torn’s performance here feels like a dry run for his award-winning work as Artie on The Larry Sanders Show. I would have watched an entire movie about Sully. As it is, Summer Rental is inoffensive and forgettable.
Through the Shattered Lens 