This is the sort of movie that plays with more impact in a theater than on TV or DVD. On the small screen, not only do you miss interacting with a sympathetic audience, but the timing and the editing seem not quite right. Oddly, the movie's screenplay construction which relies heavily on one-off episodes would seem ideal for television, but this is not the case. The climactic yacht race does not come across with the impact a live audience would give it. Instead, the editing often seems mistimed and fails to build as effectively as it should to the anticipated climax. In fact, it cuts out just at the point where it should start to get really exciting. Instead of building to a climax, the race almost fades away. It seems as if director Carl Reiner was telling us: "Well, you all know what's going to happen so it's no use making a big thing of it. We've got one joke to pull, and that should do it!" John Candy gets the director's rapt attention at all times. So does Rip Torn. But Richard Crenna's role is not built up sufficiently (although he has his moments). In fact, aside from Rip Torn (and briefly, Miss "Are they real?"), director Reiner always seems to be aiming his camera squarely at Candy at the expense of almost everyone else in the vast cast,

Being overworked is not a good thing. That's why we have to take a vacation. In "Summer Rental", this vacation is anything but ordinary. John Candy plays Jack Chester, an highly burned out air-traffic controller who takes his family out to Florida for a vacation. During the route things don't always go as planned. They get the rental house that was owned by someone else, and they get another one that's near the beach route entrance. When they go to a restaurant, they meet a very nasty yachtsman named Al(Richard Crenna) who insults the Chesters. Things were funny on the beach when the spigot from the cooler broke, and Jack gets a Frisbee to the groin. Following the boating accident, he meets neighbor Vicki(Lois Hamilton) who offers not only refreshments, but a critique of her "goods". To me, that's a little too intimidating for me. Then there's the yacht race which the Chester decides to win back their pride. With the help from everyone, family and friends of a local restaurant, they were able to win the prize. Great cast they got there John Laroquette of "Night Court" along with his first season co-star Karen Austin playing Candy's wife. Joey Lawrence of "Gimme a Break!" Plenty of casts, plenty of fun, I enjoyed this movie whether it's a keeper or a rental. HAHAHAHA!!! 5 stars!

For most of his career, John Candy played a bunch of rather silly roles that - while they were completely goofy - were great nevertheless. "Summer Rental" is one such role. Candy plays overworked air traffic controller Jack Chester, who takes his family on vacation in Florida. Naturally, it ends up being not as much of a vacation as they hoped. Finally, Jack and his family decide to take one last chance to restore their dignity.I will admit that "Summer Rental" is pretty much a big excuse to be silly, but you gotta love it. This is John Candy doing what he does best. It's really too bad that he died; he really had a good track record.

The type of movie you can watch once a year and never get tired of. Typical John Candy film. Why did he always get mediocre scripts, save the John Hughes films? Was Hughes the only director who saw his talent? Either way, Candy rises above the material and makes the film fun to watch, but not necessarily a great film by any means. Great line regarding "The Smurfs." 3/5 stars -John Ulmer