The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors (1988)

20 mistakes - chronological order

(3 votes)

Revealing mistake: When John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, and the two boys are fishing, you can tell they are on a studio lot, with a backdrop of a forest behind them. The reflection in the water from the "shoreline" is about 2 feet (at the most) away from their boat. If they were actually in the middle of a lake, the reflection wouldn't be that close, or for that matter, that clear. (01:00:09)

Revealing mistake: When they get back from Bunyans and the garbage is on the floor, Chet runs to the bathroom. The family and Roman follow him, you see Dan do a 3 count for everyone to run back In screaming, the blocking of that shot included a gap that you could see them off camera right.

Continuity mistake: During the bear in the cabin scene, after Chet puts the door back up, shortly after, you'll see the door is on the floor while Roman is fighting the bear with the oar from the steps. (Also, note in that same shot, you'll see the bookshelf was destroyed to pieces with its books all over the floor. That scene was never shown and must have been cut from the movie).

Visible crew/equipment: When the bear is jumping on the cabin door he busted down on top of John Candy you can see the bear trainer waving a stick in front of the camera to make him do his trick.

Continuity mistake: When Annette Benning is at the tops of the stairs with the twins while Dan Aykroyd is trying to fend off the bear, John Candy's younger son Ben is nowhere to be seen. In the next shot he is standing at the top of the stairs screaming with her and the girls.

Plot hole: At the amusement park when Buck is looking for Cammie, it is lightly raining but no-one seems to be getting wet.

Continuity mistake: When the lodge owner rushes in with the shotgun/lamp to help with the bear, he plugs it in, the light comes on and the shade is in place, then John Candy takes the gun from him. In the next shot when you see him getting ready to shoot the bear from John Candy's view (looking door the barrel of the gun), the light bulb is out and the lamp shade is gone.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where John Candy is being attacked by the bear while under the door, from every long shot, the stunt double has the door's curtains over his shoulder and on his back, but in the close ups of John Candy himself, the curtains are over his shoulders and on his face.

Revealing mistake: When the family pulls into the lodge parking lot and they all open their doors into trees, the tree John Candy hits with his door wobbles noticeably in the overhead shot. From the regular view you can see it's a smallish size tree, but not small enough to move as much as it does, regardless of how hard he opened the door into it.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Chet is packing up to leave after the skiing incident, and his wife Connie is attempting to talk him out of it, you can see her necklace, in various shots, under her shirt then out again several times.

Continuity mistake: When the bear is pawing at the windshield the first time, he's using his left paw, but in the next shot, it's the right paw.

Bishop73

Other mistake: When John Candy starts the drag boat, upon the sound of the engine starting, water starts flowing from the exhaust pipes but the engine never turns over.

Factual error: When John Candy throws alcohol on the fire after his bear story, there is a big explosion, but no amount of alcohol could cause an explosion big enough for a mushroom cloud, only gas or lighter fluid (especially the only small amount that is in John Candy's glass he's holding the glass is barely full and mostly ice.).

Continuity mistake: During the bat scene the painting on the mantel above the fireplace disappears and reappears, then disappears until the bat is killed.

Revealing mistake: When the bear gets shot in the hind quarters, you can see that the "bare skin" is nothing more than an overlaid prop based on how it shakes and moves independent of the bear as the bear runs away.

jerimiah

Continuity mistake: In the scene where John Candy is hugging his wife after dropping her dress to the floor, she appears to be wearing a full one piece slip. In the next shot she is wearing a half slip (waist down) and John Candy is un-hooking her string type bra.

Robert Sullinger

Visible crew/equipment: During several shots of driving at the beginning of the film, the shadows of the camera and equipment can be seen on the hood and Candy's clothes. Its clear enough to see the camera, a boom mic, and a c-stand.

manthabeat

Continuity mistake: When Chet and Roman are talking at the beginning of the movie, Chet's Empire Strikes back glass turns from one shot to the next.

robsuttonjr

Continuity mistake: When Chet is pulling on the rope (thinking he's pulling up his nieces), the rope is over his left shoulder in long shots and his right in close up shots.

Bishop73

Continuity mistake: When Cara and Mara are at the cave and arguing about who gets to go first, the one without the flashlight goes in first, but when they're sliding down the cave, the one with the flashlight is first.

Bishop73

Bartender: He's been struck by lightning... how many times has it been now, Reg?
Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-six.
Chet: Six times?
Reg: S-s-s-six-six-six-six-six-six-sixty-sixty-six times. In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n the head.
Chet: Sixty six times? God, that's gotta hurt.

More quotes from The Great Outdoors

Trivia: When Roman is proposing his investment deal to Chet there's "instant wood fire starter" on the mantle behind Chet. The scene before this, where they had the blowout, Chet was trying and failing to make a fire using wrinkled up newspaper.

Sonofnothing

More trivia for The Great Outdoors

Answer: He was an investment broker.

raywest

More questions & answers from The Great Outdoors

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