Vacation Reviews

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this sequel/remake but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of the classic from the 80’s but it doesn’t mean that the concept doesn’t have any potential. Indeed, the montage of pictures (real or not, it doesn’t really matter) at the beginning of the movie was actually quite hilarious and displayed how it might actually work. Unfortunately, this montage was pretty much the funniest thing in this movie and it all went downhill from here. The main issue with this movie and probably with this whole franchise is that Rusty Griswold is such an annoying moron. Of course, you could argue that it was actually the whole point but it didn’t make the character funny at all, it made him actually obnoxious and pathetic. This issue was even more obvious due to the fact that the rest of his family was not at all so stupid and they were much more entertaining than him to behold. Eventually, it could have been so much funnier to have an average guy with his average family going on a road trip and facing the usual obstacles that we all have to face while we go on holiday. That’s probably what the makers really messed up here, the fact that Rusty Griswold and what happens to him on this trip were so far from reality that the whole thing wasn’t relatable anymore and, as a result, it was far less entertaining than what it could have been. Anyway, to conclude, I really didn’t care much for this flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Well, they tried, but the jokes fell short and felt forced. There were a couple of amusing spots, but not enough to make it worth watching. They probably could have done better by editing out the R-rated material and having expanded it to include a larger audience, since maybe some of the jokes would have been funnier to kids? Dunno.

"The new vacation will stand on its own."

Talks of a soft reboot of the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise started all the way back in 2010, with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein tapped to write and direct the movie, but production wound up stalling. However, the unexpected runaway success of 2013's We're the Millers evidently prompted Warner Bros. to finally give 2015's Vacation the green light, as this is a blatant attempt to ape the earlier movie, right down to the modest budget, an R rating, and a similar release slot. Happily, this new Vacation is a lot better than it had a right to be, passing the most pivotal litmus test for a comedy: it's actually funny. Even though it lacks the sheer wit and ingenuity of the immortal 1983 classic that started it all, it's a worthy follow-up, effortlessly surpassing both European Vacation and Vegas Vacation. This is exactly the type of crude R-rated comedy that critics love to hate, but I cannot deny that it worked for me.

Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) is all grown up, caring for a family of his own while working as a budget airline pilot. Every year, Rusty takes wife Debbie (Christina Applegate), and sons James (Skyler Gisondo) and Kevin (Steele Stebbins) to a cabin for a holiday, but the annual tradition has grown stale. Hoping to reinvigorate his marriage and reconnect with the kids, Rusty decides to take his family on a road trip across the country to Walley World to recreate the memorable vacation he took thirty years earlier. Although his wife and sons are reluctant, Rusty fearlessly leads the gang on a series of misadventures, driving the bizarre Tartan Prancer minivan for the interstate journey. As to be expected, everything soon begins to go wrong, with Rusty trying to maintain his sanity as the accidents pile up, while the siblings fight and Debbie has her own worries.

Vacation undeniably starts out on the right foot, opening with a montage of old holiday photos set to Lindsey Buckingham's song "Holiday Road," which is essentially the franchise's anthem. Better, the photographs that are shown here are often very funny, containing quirks that had this reviewer in stitches. Despite the humour here being raunchier than its 1983 counterpart, Daley and Goldstein display a palpable reverence for the original film, making no bones about the fact that their movie is more or less a retread. There's even some amusing meta dialogue, while the script also acknowledges that Rusty is idealising past events, given the disastrous outcome of the first trip to Walley World in 1983. There are a few direct call-backs to its predecessor as well, including a scene of Rusty encountering a flirtatious beauty in a convertible, but Vacation establishes its own vibe and identity, and doesn't merely come across as a beat-by-beat remake of the comedy that John Hughes and Harold Ramis pulled off three decades ago.

Daley and Goldstein make their directorial debut here, after having penned Horrible Bosses and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 together. (If the rest of the world is willing to forget that The Incredible Burt Wonderstone exists, that's fine with me.) Standing in stark contrast to most recent comedies which are agonisingly overlong, Vacation moves by at an agreeable clip, rarely dwelling on a joke or comedic set-piece across its 95-minute runtime. Recurring jokes also hit their mark - the ongoing trials of the oddball Tartan Prancer are uproarious, with a remote control of baffling, mysterious buttons that serve questionable purposes. Easily offended viewers are advised to steer clear since this Vacation increases the lewd and crude factor, but thankfully the freedom of an R rating from the MPAA affords the humour an added punch. Not everything works, however - a predictable scene of the Griswolds swimming in raw sewerage really should have been excised, and some moments are perhaps a bit too mean-spirited.

The fourth actor to assume the role of Rusty Griswold (after Anthony Michael Hall, Jason Lively, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry), Helms is suitably endearing and earnest, and though he cannot reach the intimidating level of Chevy Chase, he does his job well enough. Christina Applegate, meanwhile, is incredibly appealing as Debbie. Even though Beverly D'Angelo was always likeable as Ellen Griswold, she was simply the straight woman to Chase, but Applegate is given far more to do here, taking the comedy spotlight on several occasions. Equally valuable are the supporting players; Skyler Gisondo plays the more introspective son James well enough, while Steele Stebbins delivers a lot of laughs at the crude, foul-mouthed, bullying younger brother with a never-ending supply of acerbic one-liners. Plenty of other recognisable actors also make appearances, including Chris Hemsworth who's a scene-stealing riot as an over-the-top weatherman. Leslie Mann, Charlie Day, Ron Livingston, Keegan-Michael Kay, Norman Reedus and Michael Pena also appear, contributing plenty of colour to the proceedings. And this wouldn't be a proper Vacation movie without Chase and D'Angelo, who are given the chance to reprise their iconic characters in a smaller capacity. It's wonderful to see them again, though their scenes aren't as funny as perhaps they should be.

Vacation proceeds with comedy logic, yet it makes little sense to nit-pick the story or structure of a film like this. What matters is that Daley and Goldstein have created an episodic yet surprisingly cohesive road trip comedy, it's easy to like the characters, and it delivers on the promise of big laughs. It's baffling that overlong, subpar comedies like The Heat and Spy were adored by critics, while Vacation was a critical punching bag. For this reviewer's money, this is an extremely enjoyable sit, and the fact that it's actually hilarious is a huge deal.

7.2/10

laugh out loud comedy better than the original I thought. really worth seeing. smiles all over your chevy chase!!

Initial Thought: I have actually never seen the first Vacation. The only one I have seen was Christmas Vacation. I did really enjoy that one. So I was intrigued about this one as well. I decided since my job opened it early I checked it out after a successful final interview for another job.

Characters/Acting: Ah the good old tradition of never having the same Rusty Griswold continues once again. Ed Helms is always pretty funny even if I sometimes confuse him with Jason Sudeikis. I mean they even came around the same time. As well as close to the same age. Anyways moving on. Christina Applegate is still a hottie in my opinion. She also still has some pretty good comedic timing. The two kids played respectively by Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins were good for their roles. Although I really didn't care for the younger brother as a character. He was just a bit too evil and antagonistic. I always love seeing Leslie Mann as I have such a huge crush on her haha. I'm never disappointed with her. Chris Hemsworth was actually quite hysterical here and plays the uncle everyone thinks is awesome. His character is so over the top with awesomeness that you can't help but be somewhat amused. I enjoyed seeing Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprising their iconic roles. Even the supporting characters who only showed up once or twice were quite hilarious and unexpected.

Story: Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to "Walley World" in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons. The credits were kind of amusing. I think the humor here is a lot more gross out and more grown up at least from Christmas Vacation. I mean it is an R rated film. Just because a comedy film has a family in it doesn't always mean take your kids. I mean there are so many blatantly obvious adult jokes here that it would be really awkward having to sit through them with your kids or even explaining a few of them. There are even a few bits of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Some stuff is a bit ridiculous though and not particularly in a fun way. I'm not going to lie though I laughed several times here. It's also a bit self-aware near the beginning. This was much more entertaining than I was anticipating.

Directing/Writing: John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein are mostly known for writing and before this have directed nothing. Daley also acts quite a bit unlike his buddy. I have enjoyed everything I have seen of theirs with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 being my favorite by far. I thought they kept up their skills quite well. I wasn't at all disappointed.

Final Thought: This was a good escape from the real world. There are some pretty laugh worthy moments from beginning to end. I mean it did have it's groan worthy stuff too. Would I recommend it to the original fans? Probably not. For people unfamiliar with the series and familiar with today's kind of comedy I would.