What is Clark's deal?

The sub-plot of Clark flirting with a much-younger woman is a theme in most if not all of the Vacation movies. I guess it's a part of his character that is supposed to show him having a mid-life crisis, and hanging onto any chance to flirt with a girl who builds his ego up by showing him any attention. Maybe it's to make him look somewhat relatable to men in their 30's-50's?

He gets a little attention from a younger girl (he never actually cheats), and stumbles over himself trying to talk to her. It really makes him more buffoonish than a jerk. If he actually followed through and tried to date a girl, he'd be more of a jerk in my book. Kind of silly, given that Beverly D'Angelo is way hotter than any of the girls he flirts with in the Vacation movies.

Actually he is a bigger jerk in the original Vacation, when he skinny-dips with what's-her-name in the motel pool. Had I done that my wife would have shot me.

Have to agree. This used to be a Christmas favourite (second only to It's A Wonderful Life). The more I watch it, however, the more I realise just how unlikable Clark is.


You can't palm off a second-rater on me. You gotta remember I was in the pink!

He's a parody, he's so wrapped up in the American way of life that he doesn't know which way to turn next, but what shines through is that he's a decent family man, who loves his wife and kids.

He's just a stupid man that turns into an idiot around a pretty girl. Flirting is pretty harmless when you're shopping with your son anyway. This doesn't take away from the fact that he just wants a perfectly unrealistic Christmas just like he always wants the perfect vacation.God bless Ellen.

I don't see what the big deal is about casual flirting. Sure he shouldn't have said that he was divorced, but he didn't actually do anything. Doesn't mean he loves his family any less. He was just being silly.

I'm not a huge fan of this movie like a lot of people, but I don't think Clark is a jerk.

Poorly Lived and Poorly Died, Poorly Buried and No One Cried

His co-worker saw him as the "last true family man" because Clark was talking about putting in the pool, because of Clark's enthusiasm for Christmas, etc. He didn't see the way Clark was hitting on Mary.

To me, Clark is a family man who overdoes things. At the same time, he also saw an attractive woman and "forgot" himself.

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Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen 🎇

I never really thought about this much. I'd say he's so deep in his everyman persona that he surely married Ellen out of high school.
I mean, he's even fantasizing about the lingerie clerk when she's not around - during the swimming pool daydream. I'm betting his & Ellen's sex life is as dull as drywall. I wonder what his online history would look like 21st century.

...my essential 50 http://www.imdb.com/list/ls056413299/

Sometimes there is just way to much ANALysis of movies. Why be distracted by one scene (which ties in nicely to another one)? All men under the age of 107 have reveries about women who are not their wives or SA's. The key is to your behavior, not your thoughts. I know that the department store scene was IRL, not fantasies, but it was an important one and accomplished a couple of things. One was to further develop the character of both Clark and Rusty, his son. The other was of course for the swimming pool scene.

Also Remember the origin of this movie. National Lampoon has always been the billboard for irreverance, so a little "naughtiness" in the great movie is not only OK, but it is EXPECTED. There were several other mildly tasteless sexual and bodily function innuendos in the film.

"Dislike" Clark Griswald? No way.

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