This Isn't Your Father's "Vacation"

Vacation (2015)

Rated R

Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins

Written and Directed by John Francis Daley, Johnathan M. Goldstein

The Story:

Rusty Griswold (Helms) decides to take the wife (Applegate) and kids (Gisondo & Stebbins) on a road trip instead of their usual family vacation. And if you're a Griswold and need a vacation, where do you go?

Walley World.

What could possibly go wrong?

While the world awaited with breathless anticipation for the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, I'm not sure too many people were clamoring to see what happened next with the Griswold family.

Thankfully, they decided to continue, and not reboot, the adventures of the world's most inept travelers by passing the mantle to Rusty.

Funny idea, halfway through the movie, they should have changed out actors to play Rusty and not have the family miss a beat at all.

:)

As I mentioned in the title, this isn't your father's vacation. It's not yours, either.

Most of us grew up on the original and Christmas Vacation, and those two are beloved classics.  That the original Vacation is saddle with an R rating is pretty much overlooked, because it is so tame compared to what would receive an R rating in ensuing years.

And in 2015, that R rating is going to be a machine gun of language from start to finish, from every character under the sun, especially the youngest son.

So no, it's doubtful this will ever become a classic addition to the franchise because there are doubtful few families who would watch this together and find it funny.

That said, many of the gags are funny.

However, many are not.

It's an uneven Vacation at best, but their heart was in the right place and you have to give the entire cast an A for effort.

Which ends up on the bell curve of movies:

Final Grade: C

The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Ten: "Christmas Vacation"

Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?

The Story:

Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) Griswold are back, along with their kids Rusty 3.0 (Johnny Galecki) and Audrey (Juliette Lewis).  This time, they are staying at home and getting the house ready for the in-laws to visit!  It's going to be the best Christmas.... Ever!!!

The Griswolds exist to remind you that no matter how bad  your vacations are, things could always be worse!

The third, and best, of the series returns with John Hughes pulling out all the stops for a Christmas classic, helmed by first time director Jeremiah Chechik.  It was all downhill for him after this film, but what a promising start to a career!

However, for the most part, the movie runs solely on the wonderful gags and dialogue that John Hughes developed for his cast, led by the perfectly cast Chase as the patriarch of the family.

I'm not here to argue on Chase's behalf as an actor, but for those that fail to find him funny or insist he's never done any good work, I'll simply say you're wrong, here's proof, and move along.

He is the beleaguered "everyman dad" that eventually some form of torture befalls to make the worst plans come to life.

Thankfully, it's Clark who takes the brunt of what goes wrong and provides the rest of us with a blueprint on how to avoid making the same mistakes.

Randy Quaid returns as the creepy cousin Eddie, and is simply outstanding in his performance.  Chase and Quaid have a perfect back and forth relationship throughout the movie that is just hysterical to watch their delivery, along with the funny lines.

It's not Christmas time until this movie plays, and it's one of a few Christmas movies that is not only allowed to play more than once during the holiday season...

It's encouraged!

If you don't already own a copy, it's also currently streaming on Netflix through the holidays!

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Owned it, wearing it out... the kids upgraded the house to a blu ray copy last Christmas!  They love me!! Or the movie... : /

: )