The Great Outdoors is one of the least discussed and most underrated movies John Hughes ever wrote. The story about a Chicago family of four retreating to the peaceful woods for a summertime getaway, only to be interrupted by fast-talking brother-in-law and his family, failed to resonate with audiences when initially released in June of 1988.
With the advent of home video, however, the movie grew in popularity and developed a rabid cult following. John Candy and Dan Aykroyd star as a pair of combative brothers-in-law trying their best to enjoy an idyllic vacation. In a retrospective look, here are 10 behind-the-scenes facts about the making of The Great Outdoors.
10 Production Shoot
Originally titled Big Country, The Great Outdoors was shot in Bass Lake, California, which doubled for the fictional Lake Potowotominimac, Wisconsin, where the movie takes place.
Principal photography took place over the course of roughly three weeks in October and November of 1987. For the vacation cabin of Loon’s Nest that Chet Ripley and his family reside in during their stay, a set was built on the Universal Studios backlot.
9 Hughes/Deutsch Connection
John Hughes originally intended to direct the film himself, but his schedule for making She’s Having a Baby (released the same year) forced him to evacuate the director’s chair.
In his stead, Hughes recruited his reliable pal Howard Deutch, who had directed two previous movies penned by Hughes in the past. Deutsch directed Pretty in Pink in 1986 and Some Kind of Wonderful in 1987. Deutsch met and married Lea Thompson on the set of the latter. The Great Outdoors marks the third and final collaboration between Hughes and Deutsch.
8 Ducey’s Bar & Grill
The lakeside eatery featured prominently in the film was not a Universal set, but rather a real restaurant in Bass Lake, California, called Ducey’s Bar & Grill, shot as Ducey’s Bass Lake Lodge.
Shortly after filming wrapped, on June 2, 1988, Ducey’s Bar & Grill burned to the ground as a result of a kitchen fire. When the restaurant was rebuilt in 1991, the owners paid tribute to the burned down building by adorning the new structure with posters and other memorabilia from the film.
7 Location Continuity Error
Although the film is purportedly set in rural Wisconsin (shot in California), a line of dialogue spoken by Chet early in the film betrays the geographic location of where the story takes place.
Chet and his family hail from Chicago, and when they arrive at their summer cabin, Chet mentions that they are in Clare County. A Clare County does not exist in Wisconsin. The only state in North America to feature a Clare County is the great state of Michigan.
6 Poster Inspiration
The poster design for the film was directly patterned after the cover-illustration of the British publication, The Great Outdoors. On the poster, Chet (Candy) is seen hanging from a fishing pole handled by Roman (Aykroyd). The tagline “Outdoor Fun For Everyone” can be seen along with two subheaders involving raccoons and family trip tips.
For the posters promoted in the UK and fellow European territories, the poster designed was altered drastically. Rather than Chet hanging from Roman’s fishing rod, the Bald-Headed Bear dangles Chet by the back of his neck while Roman smugly leers away.
5 Ghostbusters Line
Severe references to prior Hughes and Aykroyd movies can be heard and seen in the film. For instance, when Chet and Roman struggle to dispatch the bat flying around in their cabin in the middle of the night, Roman repeats the exact same line uttered by Ray Stantz in Ghostbusters.
After a long battle with the bat, Roman finally subdues the bloodsucker by bashing it as it lands on Chet’s face. As soon as Roman strikes the critter, he barks “We got it. We got it.” This is the exact same line Aykroyd says when capturing Slimer in the ballroom in Ghostbusters.
4 Paul Bunyan’s Cupboard
One of the most memorable scenes that Hughes wrote in the film comes when Chet takes his family to eat dinner at a restaurant called Paul Bunyan’s Cupboard, in which he accepts the challenge of trying to eat the Old 96er, a 96-ounce steak, so his whole family can eat for free.
Paul Bunyan’s Cupboard does not exist, but it was modeled after the popular North Wisconsin restaurant Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty. Unfortunately, the Old 96er isn’t available on the menu.
3 Annette Bening’s Film Debut
Although she appeared in two TV episodes and two made-for-TV movies in 1986 and 1987, Annette Bening made her big-screen debut in The Great Outdoors. In the film, she plays Kate Craig, the husband of Roman Craig and the sister of Connie Ripley (Stephanie Faracy).
Two years later, Bening would earn the first of four Oscar nominations for her performance in the crime-thriller The Grifters, leading to what would turn into a highly-decorated film career.
2 Point Beer
In several instances throughout the film, the brand Point Beer is imbibed by patrons in various bars and restaurants. This is not a fictitious beer brand, but rather a popular local beer brewed in nearby Point Stevens, Wisconsin.
The local brew is extremely popular in central and Northern Wisconsin where the film is set. In addition to various customers drinking the brand, a sign for Point Beer is prominently displayed in one of the eateries Chet and his family frequent during the film.
1 Blues Brothers Connections
At least two references to Dan Aykroyd and John Candy’s The Blues Brothers were made during the production of The Great Outdoors. The “Loon’s Nest” cabin created on the Universal backlot for The Great Outdoors is the same location used for the Bob’s Country Bunker set in The Blues Brothers. The attraction remained upright long enough to be featured in the Universal Studios Tour, but was eventually torn down.
In addition to the reused set, the credits listed for the song “Dragboat” in this film state that it was performed by The Elwood Blues Revue. Of course, Elwood Blues is the name of Aykroyd’s character in The Blues Brothers.
