Is John Candy actually the bad guy in Summer Rental?

Summer Rental is one of my favorite John Candy movies. It gives a great glimpse of the 80’s Beach Trip vibe. However, upon multiple rewatches, a very good case could be made that Candy’s character Jack Chester is actually the villain of the story and that Al Pellett is actually an innocent victim.

Let’s look at the facts:

- Chester goes to the wrong beach home and literally commits breaking & entering. When the owners show up, the family leaves but they still trash the house in the way out.

- Chester disrupts and makes a scene at a family restaurant because he couldn’t get lobster.

- Chester disregards maritime law and causes major damage to Pellet’s sailboat.

- When Chester goes to the beach, he causes a major disruption to beachgoers with his cooler.

- Chester, a married man, feels up a married neighbor when his family is gone for the day.

- Chester wins the regatta with his pants as a sail, which the judge says may or may not be legal.

- Did Chester himself invest any money into the refurbishing of the Barnacle? Doesn’t seem to be the case. Also in his quest for revenge, he allowed Scully to throw all of his inventory and coolers overboard.

There are probably more but it’s clear that Al Pellett literally did nothing wrong in this movie except defend his family & friends when some random renter accosted him at his dinner table. In fact, he was a pillar of the community who invested in property & local businesses. His victories at the regatta were a point of local pride while Chester leaves his trail of damage behind and heads back to Atlanta.