The 12 Best Chevy Chase Movies, Ranked

Many comedic actors from the 1970s and 1980s made careers out of larger-than-life performances that were quirky and loud and big. But in order for this to work, they needed a straight man to bounce their comedy off of — the Zeppo Marxes of the film industry. Chevy Chase was the rare comedian who managed to be a genuinely funny straight man. He was adept at pratfalls and capable of being goofy and befuddled, but he could also be smooth and confident, even arrogant. In many of his movies, he is the person that things happen to, an everyman just trying to get on with his life while comic catastrophe unfolds around him.

Chase's career began in earnest with "Saturday Night Live." As the subversive comedy show began to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry, Chase was regarded as its first real star. Hollywood soon beckoned, and he traded New York sketch comedy for the silver screen. He's been a controversial figure throughout his entire career, from hostilities with his "SNL" costars that led to Bill Murray allegedly punching him in the face backstage to claims of racism and misogyny on some of his more recent projects. Despite these (and other) on-set issues, Chase has been a key figure in Hollywood for decades and featured in some of the most famous comedy films of the late 20th century. Laugh and (in one instance) cry along with us as we rank Chase's 12 best movies.

"Spies Like Us" may not be the single greatest film in either Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd's filmography, but it's a classic example of the mid-1980s comedy, complete with stalwart, reliable comic actors in the lead roles. The two "Saturday Night Live" alumni star as fledgling spies who work for intelligence agencies, but not in any James Bond-esque capacity. Austin Millbarge (Aykroyd) is a Pentagon decryptor who dreams of espionage's flashier side, while Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chase), the son of an envoy, only took the foreign service exam under duress. 

Though neither seems like a top intelligence recruit, they're thrown into the field together. Their mission is to more or less have their presence in the Soviet Union distract Russian operatives from the real spies on the ground. As you might expect, things go awry almost immediately. Critical reception to "Spies Like Us" was lukewarm, but Janet Maslin of The New York Times offered up faint praise for both Chase and Aykroyd, writing, "The stars are always affable, and they're worth watching even when they do very little." The two actors reunited a handful of times after this film, starring in "Caddyshack 2," "The Couch Trip," and "Nothing But Trouble." They even recently reunited on "Zombie Town," an adaptation of an R.L. Stine YA horror novel, that haunted theaters and Hulu in 2023.

File this one under "better than it has any right to be." "Hot Tub Time Machine" mashes up '80s teen movies and classic time-travel adventures, shamelessly utilizing the tropes of both genres to create a goofy comedy about a group of friends who travel back to a ski resort in 1986. Although the film revolves around the antics of John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, and Craig Robinson as the main cast, it also features a memorable cameo from Chevy Chase as the Repairman. He essentially offers the group cryptic advice as they attempt to navigate the past, serving as a mysterious figure with special knowledge of their very specific predicament. 

As a sort of elder statesman of comedy, Chase was in the perfect position to pass the baton to the younger performers in "Hot Tub Time Machine." In Roger Ebert's review of the film, he described Chase's role as the kind that "George Burns used to play, when you needed a guy who just looked like he knew the secrets of the universe" — a great character type for Chase to grow into as he transitioned into a new stage of his career.

A classic fish-out-of-water story, "Funny Farm" casts Chase as a New York City novelist who moves with his wife to the eccentric small town of Rosebud, Vermont, where he hopes the peace and quiet will help him finish his latest book. While at first Rosebud seems like a quintessentially charming New England community, conflict quickly arises between Andy Farmer (Chase) and the local residents. He and his wife clash after he passes off one of her children's books as his own. That leads them to bribe their neighbors in a desperate attempt to make the community appealing to prospective buyers as they try to sell their house.

"Funny Farm" was not a huge success upon release, but it has since grown in esteem, acquiring a significant cult following. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film their stamp of approval from the very beginning, with Siskel going so far as to call it "the best film Chase has made." Today, it's easy to categorize "Funny Farm" in the specific "suburban hell" subgenre alongside Tom Hanks' "The Burbs," films that were likely made as a response to the yuppie greed movement of the 1980s. "Funny Farm" rates as the best of that bunch. 

Life moves pretty fast: One day you're a librarian leading a dull, uneventful life, and the next you somehow find yourself embroiled in the middle of a plot to murder the Pope. At least, that's what happens to Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) in "Foul Play." A comedic spin on classic noir (complete with plenty of homages to Alfred Hitchcock's classic thrillers), "Foul Play" co-stars Chase as one of two San Francisco police officers whom Mundy convinces to help her. 

Interestingly, while not one of Chase's best-known films, "Foul Play" ranks among his most critically acclaimed efforts, receiving an Academy Award nomination for best original song and serving as the inspiration for a short-lived television remake starring Barry Bostwick. Chase had yet to solidify his big-screen comedic persona at this point since this marked his first lead role after his star-making run on "Saturday Night Live." As Scott Nash of Three Movie Buffs wrote in a film review, "His comedy is restrained compared to what it would be when his ego and parts grew bigger."

A launching pad for Colin Hanks' (eldest son of Tom Hanks) career as a teen star, "Orange County" is one of the most underrated comedies of the 2000s. Hanks portrays a high school student determined to escape the chaos of his dysfunctional family and attend Stanford University so he can become a famous writer. But things go south when he gets rejected, only to learn that his school sent the wrong transcripts to Stanford, thanks to a fellow student having a similar name. 

Chase appears briefly as Principal Harbert, a man poorly equipped to handle the intellectual leanings of some of his students. When Shaun (Hanks) suggests that they try to secure Toni Morrison as their graduation speaker, Harbert ignores him, turning instead to another student who is a friend-of-a-friend of Britney Spears, as the opening strains of "Baby One More Time" play in the background. Funny stuff. This is one of the many cameo roles Chase took on in his post-1990s career, with "Orange County" much more focused on highlighting its young talent, Colin Hanks and Jack Black.

"Love, Gilda" stands out as the rare introspective piece in Chase's filmography and one of the few documentaries he's participated in. As many fans know, Chase was a breakout star during the first season of "Saturday Night Live," leaving halfway through the second season to pursue a film career and becoming the first cast member of the show to make the jump from television to the big screen. During his time on "Saturday Night Live," he worked with the incomparable Gilda Radner, also one of its most iconic early stars. 

Radner died of ovarian cancer at the age of just 42 back in 1989, and "Love, Gilda," is a love letter to her effervescent personality, which left an indelible mark on all who knew her. It combines archival footage of Radner's own diaries and home movies along with comments from famous actors who either worked with or were influenced by her. Chase speaks fondly about their time together on "Saturday Night Live," sharing reminiscences of a comedy legend who wasn't necessarily recognized for her brilliance during her lifetime. 

On paper, "Hero" represents Chase's biggest run at a prestige project. Directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, it boasted a pedigree cast and crew that would normally signal excellence. Yet, surprisingly enough, Chase appears in this film uncredited, despite playing a fairly significant role as the director of a TV station who offers a substantial reward to an anonymous Good Samaritan who saved passengers from a downed aircraft. 

The reason for this has its roots in the classic Hollywood studio system: At the time "Hero" was made, Chase was under contract to Columbia Pictures, which only agreed to loan him out to Warner Brothers on the condition that he not receive credit for his performance. As a result, one of his most un-Chevy Chase roles ends up flying entirely under the radar, as "Hero" underperformed at the box office and, despite its clever depiction of the cynical media news cycle, failed to connect with audiences. If you want to witness Chase stretching a bit as an actor, check out "Hero." 

The third film in the "National Lampoon's Vacation" franchise, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" presents the Griswold family up to their usual hijinks, this time during the holiday season. Unlike the other films in the series, where the Griswolds travel somewhere with generally calamitous results, this one catches up with them at their family residence over Christmas. But if you think the fact that they're playing with home-field advantage will prevent absurd disasters from befalling them, you would be sorely mistaken. 

Nothing seems to go right for Clark Griswold this Christmas: He must deal with all manner of disruption, from conflict with his pretentious neighbors to fights with the in-laws to Cousin Eddie kidnapping Clark's boss for failing to give him a holiday bonus. It's all happening. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" has grown to become a holiday classic, largely thanks to Chase's performance as the befuddled Griswold patriarch. At any given point over the month of December, this holiday comedy is playing on cable along with "A Christmas Story," "Miracle on 24th Street," "Home Alone," "It's a Wonderful Life," and other perennial favorites. And deservedly so.

Who amongst us hasn't been coerced by armed gunmen to rob a bank on their behalf? That's essentially the plot of "Seems Like Old Times," where Chase plays Nick, a struggling writer turned amateur bank robber who is forced on the run when he accidentally looks a security camera right in the eye, making him a wanted fugitive. There's a screwball comedy's worth of interpersonal coincidences in this film: Nick's ex-wife (Goldie Hawn) just happens to be a public defender in a position to help him out, while her new husband (Charles Grodin) just happens to be running for attorney general of California, which makes him extremely inclined to prosecute Nick. Oh, the comic misadventures these three will have.

Like many of Chase's films, "Seems Like Old Times" received only faint praise when it first came out in 1980. Critics mostly praised Neil Simon's script and the performances of the main cast, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times writing that Chase "rises from his recent doldrums to become this movie's liveliest light." This was the second time that Chase and Hawn starred together, and their chemistry together is undeniable.

One of the most infinitely quotable comedies of the early 1980s — especially for a certain demographic of men who just happened to be in their late teens and early 20s when the film came out — "Caddyshack" has reached legendary status. A veritable Who's Who of 1980s comedy stars, it features performances from "Saturday Night Live" alums Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, two actors who had an allegedly adversarial relationship with one another. 

Where Murray and their co-star Rodney Dangerfield give bigger, quirkier performances as an unhinged groundskeeper and a nouveau riche goofball, Chase seems entirely comfortable in the role of the straight man. He plays Ty Webb, a golfer and professional nepo baby who takes a young caddy under his wing. Jeff Millar praised the film's class consciousness in the Houston Chronicle, referring to Chase as "a caricature of the worthlessly idle rich." He went on to compliment the actor, writing, "Chase does a lot of his 'SatNiteLive' clumsy schtick, but he also has most of the writers' throwaway, spacy-funny lines, which Chase handles very well." "Caddyshack" has since gone on to be considered one of the funniest films of the 1980s — an impressive achievement for Harold Ramis' directorial debut.

Recently remade with Jon Hamm in the starring role, "Fletch" is perhaps Chase's most well-rounded comedic film to date. Chase plays Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who, while on assignment, is approached by a wealthy business executive with an unusual proposition. He offers Fletch a huge sum of money to kill him, claiming that he is terminally ill and would like to end his life on his own terms. But this is just the beginning of the tangled web of lies that make up "Fletch," a noir-comedy hybrid that manages the nigh-on impossible task of genuinely paying homage to crime thrillers of the 1940s while also being genuinely funny. 

It's a tremendous showpiece for Chase, whose baked-in arrogance is a perfect fit for an investigator who just can't leave well enough alone. If the mystery narrative didn't work for every critic watching it back in 1985, they were at least in agreement with regard to Chase's performance. Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that "he manages simultaneously to act the material with a good deal of nonchalance and to float above it," while Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader described his comedic approach as "grounded in detachment, underreaction, and cool contempt for rhetorically overblown authority figures."

There may have been half a dozen different Audreys and Russes over the years, but there's only one Clark Griswold. Perhaps the role that Chase is most identified with today, his performance as Clark is now legendary: A hapless family man whose efforts to take his wife and kids on the trip of a lifetime to the fictional California amusement park Walley World (based on Disneyland but renamed out of fear of one extremely litigious mouse) perpetually end in calamity. And it all began here, in "National Lampoon's Vacation." 

Gary Arnold of the Washington Post referred to the film as "Chase's most likable vehicle to date, and he endows Mr. Griswold with a sincere sort of goofiness." That's the key appeal of the main character: Clark Griswold is well-intentioned, but may not be entirely keyed to his family's wants and needs, and the longer the road trip goes on, the further off the map he veers. Even when their cross-country road trip goes comically awry, he is hell-bent on following through on what they started. 

Paired up with Beverly D'Angelo, one of many in a long line of wives that are too good for their clueless on-screen husbands, the two actors create the foundation for a family so memorable that it didn't even matter that they replaced the actors who played their children in every subsequent film.