Liberty (the torch of which their plane crashes into and knocks over) Notting Hill, West London (Clark runs over Eric Idle's character here) Scenes supposedly taking place in West Germany were actually shot in a German-speaking part of Italy (Brixen). Music The musical score for National Lampoon's European Vacation was composed by Charles Fox, who replaced Ralph Burns of the first film. Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road" was once again featured as the film's theme song, with many other contemporary songs included throughout the film. "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham "Some Like It Hot" by Power Station "Town Called Malice" by The Jam "Problèmes d'amour" by Alexander Robotnick "Ça plane pour moi" by Plastic Bertrand "Pig In a Poke" by Danny Gould "Baby It's You, Yes I Am" by Danger Zone "New Looks" by Dr. John "Back in America" by Network Reception Box office National Lampoon's European Vacation opened July 26, 1985 in 1,546 North American theaters and grossed $12,329,627 its opening weekend, ranking number one at the box office. After its initial run, the film grossed a total of $49,364,621 domestically. Critical response Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives National Lampoon's European Vacation a score of 34% based on reviews from 29 critics, with an average of 5 out of 10. The critical consensus reads; "European Vacation charts a course through a succession of pretty destinations, but the journey itself lacks the laughs that made the original outing so memorable." On Metacritic, it has a score of 47 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Janet Maslin of The New York Times thought positively of the film stating, "While it's very much a retread, it succeeds in following up the first film's humor with more in a similar vein." She added, "The film's best visual humor arises from the mere juxtaposition of European settings with the funny hats, T-shirts and soda cans with which the Griswalds announce their presence." Entertainment magazine Variety gave the film a negative review explaining, "As the family of characters cartwheel through London, Paris, Italy and Germany - with the French deliciously taking it on the chin for their arrogance and rudeness - director Amy Heckerling gets carried away with physical humor while letting her American tourists grow tiresome and predictable. Structurally, the film unfolds like a series of travel brochures." References External links 1985 films 1980s adventure comedy films American