Vacation is the next generation re-boot of the much loved National Lampoon's Vacation films that started in 1983. Rusty Griswald has grown up and has his own dysfunctional family, that he will do anything for. Blessed with a beautiful wife and two sons who hate each other, Rusty's life has hit a wall.
Underwhelmed with his career working as a pilot for a budget airline and aware that things are not so great, he desperately tries to turn things around by taking the family on a road trip to Whalley World. But when your budget is not so great, neither is your experience.
It's fair to say, that the original Vacation films were pretty risky for their time. But, one thing is for sure, the formula worked. So what we get with Vacation 2015 is pretty much the same thing but with the volume adjusted for today's audience. So it is crude, vulgar, offensive, raunchy, and outright filthy. However, if you like films like The Hangover, Due Date or Horrible Bosses, you will love the humor in Vacation. Plenty of people must do because it grossed well over one hundred million dollars.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein co-wrote and directed the film and the script does not fall short. It flows from one awful scenario to the next with relentless action. There are some incredible chase scenes and the rafting scene is fantastic. They even weave in some obvious nods to the original from 1983, but with some outrageous results.
Ed Helms, from The Hangover, plays Rusty Griswald and the tragic character that is Rusty fits him perfectly. Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins, do a great job with their parts playing James and Kevin Griswald. Two drastic extremes of characters, with the younger Kevin getting all of the best lines. However, it is Christina Applegate (Dead To Me) who totally steals the show and rightly gets an equal share of the limelight. Lots of the funniest scenes in Vacation come from her, including one of the funniest scenes of all which involves copious amounts of puke.
Even Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo make an appearance, reviving their roles as Rusty's parents. Charlie Day does not appear for long, but wow, his role as the suicidal Rafting Guide is a classic moment. Leslie Mann and Chris Hemsworth pop up as Rusty's sister and Brother-in-Law. It's fair to say that Hemsworth has a lot of fun with his part.
Vacation is the kind of film that you will either love or hate. But it is what it is, just a stupid, outrageous and vulgar romp. Despite being a reboot of sorts, it is good enough to stand on its own – there's even a joke about that in the script. So, if you are looking for a laugh and something that may be cringe-worthy but is heaps of fun, check out Vacation on Amazon Prime.
