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VACATION (2015) – The Review – We Are Movie Geeks

Review

VACATION (2015) – The Review

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Oh, can ya’ hear it? That infectious, steady beat emanating from your local multiplex’s state of the art speakers? Is that Lindsay Buckingham imploring you to join him and cruise down the “Holiday Road”? Why of course it is! It’s time again to load up and head out on another VACATION! Oh, but hold up, this isn’t just another excursion, we’re about to switch lanes and take a different route, via the “sequel/reboot highway”. First, lets; a take a glance at our rearview mirror. In the late seventies, the National Lampoon magazine (the counter-culture’s humor monthly of choice) ran a terrific prose article called “Vacation 58” written by freelancer John Hughes (yes, the future “Brat Pack” patron saint). Jump to 1978 when the mag exploded into movie houses with the smash NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE. The studios desperately wanted more hit flicks from NL. Unfortunately the next few comedies sputtered at the box office (CLASS REUNION, MOVIE MADNESS). Finally, in 1983, Warners produced a film based on that old Hughes piece, albeit with some changes (invading Disneyland and plugging Uncle Walt? Uh, no, along with the 50’s nostalgia). This surprise smash spawned three more adventures with Clark Griswold and the family. But now we’re cruisin’ with Clark’s son Rusty and his own family. Can this new crew continue the comic chaos, or will a “stay-cation” with the DVD boxed set prove a better bet?

Yes, Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) is all grown up, and as we meet him (after a very funny opening title sequence inspired by a popular website), he’s just returned to Chicago. Midway Airport actually, for he’s a pilot for one of those bargain airlines. Soon he’s in the loving bosom of his family. There’s his gorgeous wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) and his two sons, gangly, awkward James (Skyler Gisondo), and his constant tormentor, pre-teen Kevin (Steele Stebbins). That night they have their neighbors over for dinner, who regale the Griswolds with their tales of their recent vacation in Paris. Rusty brags that, once again, they’re heading to their cabin on a lake up in Michigan. It’s then that he realizes that the fam, particularly Deb, is not that excited about the same spot (going through the scrapbook he sees the smiles morph into a lackluster stare). He’s gotta’ make new fun memories for them, maybe by revisiting one of his golden past trips. The next day Rusty makes the big announcement: they’re driving to California to experience the killer coaster “the Velociraptor” at the premiere amusement park “Wally World”. He piles them into an odd rental vehicle and begins this quest to bring them closer. As they say, it’s not the destination, but the journey, so they make several stops along the way. Hey, let’s drop in on Debbie’s old college, then a natural hot spring. Soon they arrive on the doorstep of Rusty’s sister Audrey (Leslie Mann) and her dim, hunky TV weatherman hubby Stone (Chris Hemsworth). Maybe they’ll make the time to drop in on the grandparents (Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo). But will Rusty’s plans cause his wife and kids to drift even further away?

So, is Helms another Chevy? Well no, he’s an outstanding comic leading man in his own right. After being part of the “wolf pack” in the HANGOVER trilogy, he proves that he can carry his own flick. His take on Rusty combines the panic of the dentist from those flicks along with the awkward bravado of Andy from TV’s “The Office” with the clueless enthusiasm of his CEDAR RAPIDS role to make an endearing doofus daddy. But he’s really not carrying the whole thing on his able shoulders. Applegate reminds us that’s she’s quite a gifted comic actress. Sure she went toe to toe with Ron Burgundy in several funny verbal jousts, but here (specifically in the college sequence) she shows off a skill for slapstick we’ve not seen since she was the Bundys’ blonde bombshell on TV. D’Angelo spent much of her time being exasperated and annoyed at her on-screen hubby, while Ms.A gets down and dirty right alongside the boys. Speaking of the boys, Gisondo (so terrific as young Moe in the recent THREE STOOGES feature) really shines as the nervous, fumbling elder son. There’s a real comic energy and rapport in his scenes with Helms. And he really embodies the terrors of puberty, especially in his encounters with the gorgeous Catherine Missal, the teen dream gal who always pops up at whatever dingy roadside motel the Griswolds occupy for the night. While Gisondo’s James is clumsy sweetness, Stebbins as Kevin is the ultimate “bad seed” who makes the torture of his older bro’ his sole reason for living. He brings a lot of evil energy to his part, often gleefully spouting profanity that would make a sailor, no the whole fleet, blush (a bit the producers too often relay on to get a cheap chuckle or to end a scene). Mann has little to do as the flashy Audrey (she’s much better served in her hubby’s flicks), but Hemsworth shows off his keen comic chops (Thor could be funny, but not this hilarious) particularly as he takes great care to explain the TV controls (oh, that “red band” trailer). Chevy and Beverly do make an appearance in a stilted cameo, but we must make note of the unofficial fifth Griswold on the trip, the mysterious blue oblong enigma, the “Tartan Prancer”, that “all that was left” rental vehicle. It may not be as ugly as the “Wagon Queen Family Truckster”, but “TP” takes its place alongside that classic car in addition to the “Bluesmoble”, “Ecto 1”, the Delta’s “Deathmobile” and even Jack Benny’s “Maxwell” in the comedy car hall of fame. It comes with two gas tank openings, an electrical cord with odd prongs, and an indecipherable remote key (“What is this muffin symbol?”) that produces unexpected actions (“Why would they program that?!”). And the navigation system, that bounces from a calm Nordic voice to an extremely angry Asian, becomes a hysterical narrator to the mayhem.

The writing/directing team of John Frances Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, best known for the first HORRIBLE BOSSES, ably carry on the tradition established by the late, great Harold Ramis. Yes, too many gags were used in the ads and trailers, but Rusty’s pep talk about the trip remains a really clever take on current Hollywood marketing. They don’t pull back from the raunch (no wimpy PG-13 remake here), while also going for the family pathos. Sure, yeah, the “heart’ stuff is okay, but we’re just marking time till the next outrageous gag or gross-out. There are countless comedy stars from TV and films that pop up in often very funny bits, but this doesn’t offset the now-familiar comedy flick third act “lull”. So yeah, it could use a 5 or 10 minute trim. But fans of the original series are just here for the big laughs and there are plenty (happily not just pop culture references. I’m, looking at you TED 2!), and to be truthful, it’s a lot better that the EUROPEAN and VEGAS entries (Hmm. just the opposite of the STAR TREK series, whose even-numbered flicks were usually better). The new VACATION is a familiar, but still often riotous comedy re-invention that won’t sully your memories of ole’ Wally World. Just make sure that you listen to the moose out front!

3.5 Out of 5

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Jim Batts was a contestant on the movie edition of TV's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in 2009 and has been a member of the St. Louis Film Critics organization since 2013.