Review of Vacation (2015) by Kyle W — 24 Aug 2015

I'm in a minority here, but I'll be damned if my nostalgia for the 80s original and my overall enjoyment of this belated sequel didn't have me laughing out loud at several points. The story is simple (and familiar); family man Griswold (now Clark's son Rusty, played by Ed Helms) feels like his family ties are going off the deep-end and so plans to re-enact the infamous Griswold cross-country trip to Wally-World.

This, of course, leads to wacky mishaps and shenanigans aplenty, but what separates this from any other "what could go wrong" film is an underlying naivete and sweetness that binds every poop and pubic hair joke to the larger picture of familial bonds.

There's little meanness to be found here; in this way, the affinity this rehash has to its decades-old predecessor is remarkable, even as it subs in a 2015 comic sensibility that is at turns more meta, darker, and occasionally un-PC.

That it's never offensive is in large part due to the casting; Ed Helms is no Chevy Chase, but he carries that spirit at all points, and Christina Applegate is the perfect comic partner. The kids are even great, particularly Steele Stebbins as the younger, potty-mouthed Kevin.

It's only in certain segments, like an interlude involving Chris Hemsworth and a forced penis gag, that things start to fall flat. For the rest, it's refreshingly breezy and good-natured summer fun.