Our Top Five Movie Dads
4. Clark Griswold, Chevy Chase, National Lampoon’s series
Clark W. Griswold is the archetypal doofus dad. Everything he touches turns to shit. But his heart is always in the right place. And that’s got to count for something.
It’s his reaction to said eff-ups that make Chevy Chase’s most iconic character so funny and endearing. Whether it’s his fist driving through Marty Moose’s rubber nose or pulling a gun on a security officer after driving the family across the breadth of the US to get to a fun park that they discover is closed for repairs; or slamming a plastic Santa and karate-chopping some reindeer after encountering problems with the 25,000-globe illumination of the family home during Christmas Vacation; or misinterpreting the moves in a German slap dance and engaging in a fist fight during Beerfest, he’s the ultimate family man.
Clark gets full points for perseverance: his quests inevitably prove successful, but only after dragging his loved ones through hell to get there.
Honey, we’re not normal people. We’re the Griswolds.
Great List! I would add Will Smith’s character in Pursuit of Happiness.