VACATION ~ Rated R

VACATION – Rated R

“Family is the most important thing there is…”

From Directors John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein, who previously joined forces to bring us HORRIBLE BOSSES and THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, comes NOT a REMAKE or even a REBOOT of the Harold Ramis and John Hughes 83’ film classic…but a “next phase” in the evolution of the GRISWOLD Dynasty, aptly called VACATION!!!

When we meet Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) again~ he is all grown up~ and making his way in life as an airline pilot, husband and father of two sons, who have been blessed with a few of those dna that brought us all to tears of laughter the first time around…

When issues start to arise in Rusty’s relationship with wife Debbie (Christina Applegate), and with his boys James (Skyler Gisondo) and Kevin (Steele Stebbins), what better way to bring everyone closer together, than to schedule a family road trip to WALLY WORLD, just like Rusty enjoyed when he was a boy.

As the miles unfold before them, our NEW FAMILY of road tripping Griswold’s take in many wonders along the thousands of miles between them and their destination. Among these stops is a visit to Rusty’s sister Audrey’s (Leslie Mann) home to see her, and her super hot hubby Stone (Chris Hemsworth), as it’s been a really long time since they have been together; and family is really important…especially if they happen to be as easy on the eye’s as Stone is…

But, just as in Rusty’s childhood, things don’t seem to be playing out as Rusty had imagined ~ making him wonder if his decision to reconnect with “THE FAM” on this “TWICE IN A LIFETIME EXCURSION” may have actually been one of his worst ideas EVER…

I GIVE VACATION 3 out of 5 Stars: Okay, lets get to the chase – no pun intended – I loved the ORIGINAL 83’ version of this film so much ~ I literally cannot tell you how many times I have viewed it in the last 30+ years ~ so I knew going in, this would have to be one INCREDIBLE FILM to win me over. And I believe that Daley and Goldstein think they had created a film with enough raunchy humor and family hijinks, that they could win over even the truest of skeptics, but sadly, I wasn’t swayed totally in that direction. Helms and Applegate are quite enjoyable to view as the newest Griswold parents to hit the big screen, and Gisondo and Stebbins were pretty entertaining too as the feuding siblings, and I even enjoyed the cameos everyone was hoping to see when Chase and D’Angelo showed up on screen, but a lot of this film just seemed so contrived and so expected, that it didn’t win me over to thinking this one was up to the standards of the original film. The writers even try to convince themselves and the audience that this film can compete with it’s predecessor by stating “THIS VACATION will stand on it’s own merit”, but I totally beg to differ. If you haven’t seen the original, then you might really find THIS VACÅTION to be one of the funniest films you have seen in a long time. But if you have experienced the original film and cast comprised of such seasoned actors as CHASE, D’ANGELO, HALL, QUAID and COCA…this film just doesn’t compare in any way, shape, or form. No matter how hard they tried to create a film that will stand the test of time like the original…I just don’t think they accomplished that…sorry guys!

Kathy Kaiser