Review of Vacation (2015) by Jordan K — 24 Aug 2015

Vacation's main problem is it borrows a lot from its original, trying to update to the plot although reusing a lot of the old subplots from its 1983 original - it's odd that it doesn't hold a candle to the original humorwise.

Vacation's story is the same exact thing as the original, a quirky father takes his family on a trip to the Walley World amusement park but mischief reigns supreme as the destination takes a turn. The big difference from the original in terms of not being a total rehash is the main character is not Clark Griswold but his son, seen in the original but now grown up, Rusty Griswold, as Clark makes a brief cameo in the later part of the film.

Vacation not only feels like a repeat of its original but humorwise it tries too hard to be more edgy and raunchier than it, getting into situations that aren't so much funny but immature and slows the film down. Its characters are a major rehash of the original, just with changed names, albeit the kids are a lot different but still unlikable and bland. The gags of constant mistakes and hopeful sympathy for Rusty get old fast. Vacation is the ultimate disappointment remake, with disastrous attempts at slow and overly done humor.