Dan Gardner

And btw, since Dan Gardner was obvioustly not planning on renting out his house at that time, why was there a key in the mailbox?

It's a comedy - not to worry about every little logic point! (--:

early in the film:
the actor who plays Gardner has a little scene as an extra next to Candy at the Air Controller's complex - so, why didn't Candy say "I know you - you work as an Air Traffic Controller near me. Whatcha doin' here?"

Richard Crenna's voice is heard as the irate pilot who claims that Candy is trying to 'mate him' with another plane.
that's more 'illogical' than fumbling with a door.. anyway, they race against an outstanding Skipper and beat him with a floating Fishfood Restaurant.. shouldn't that concern us, if we're so inclined? (---:

In comedy, it's the setup or 'hooks' before the comedic scenes that provide the humor. Summer Rental is almost a textbook lesson in setting up what follows without tipping the audience at the time. In the matter of the house rental, consider:

1> the house is spectacular, in a wealthy neighborhood (the snotty couple 'having lunch' in the yard next door) - upon reflection, did the Chesters seem like the prosperous family that could afford such a palace?
2> Candy unloads EVERYTHING upon arrival ('I like to get all my suffering over in one day').. so, vacating the Villa late at night becomes a hilarious drudgery (add the problems with the little girl, the dog, and his food!)
3> the 'real' house they rented is such a dump - no privacy, cheap kitchen furniture, noisy, crummy TV reception, etc. - what a contrast! the audience can surely relate to such an event,,!

Finally, Candy was unmatched in his ability to improv those hilarious comments 'under his breath'. in this case, "What is this - one of those time-sharing places?" as he fumbles for his rental receipt. Candy hasn't been replaced, you know - his tragic death left a big hole in Hollywood comedies. The lovable, protective clown, everyone's Uncle Buck.

I hope if you look at the film in this light, you'll see past the little 'stretches of logic' - after all, one of the greatest gag writers of all time, Carl Reiner, directed. What a pedigree - he, and Mel Brooks, wrote jokes for the Sid Caesar show back in the 50's.

I've been asking for a new release of 'Summer Rental' with Reiner's narrative, for a long time (while Reiner is - amazingly - still alive and lucid).


:-) canuckteach (--:

Maybe he lost the spare key...or maybe he couldn't see really well and was having a hard time getting his key in the lock...and he started to get mad, cuz he was tired from driving and wondering who was in his house....

My guess is that Dan Gardner's spare key was the one in the mailbox which Jack Chester used earlier to gain access to the house. When the Gardners' arrived Dan Gardner first saw the Chester's car and U-Haul and was curious about that and he decided to check the mailbox for his spare key. He then discovered that the spare key was missing from the mailbox. The rummaging by the door means that he was trying to figure out what might have become of his spare key. At that point the Combination of the Chester's car and trailer and the missing spare key confirmed to him that someone was in his house. This frustrated and angered him which then resulted in the door tugging. Upon finding it locked he then simply pulled his ORIGINAL, REGULAR key from his pocket and opened the door. I have watched this movie several times and this is what I have always assumed took place.