Review of Vacation (2015) by Dcedmonds — 02 Aug 2015

"Vacation" 10 Scale Rating: 4.0 (Bad) ...

The Good: When it works, it works well. On more than a couple of occasions, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Christina Applegate, for example, was much funnier than expected and Chris Hemsworth's scenes (while fairly brief) were also amusing. The real stars of the film though was the kids. Played by Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins, the pair stole the show when it was their turn to provide the laughs. The film also had a few good cameos, highlighted by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprising their roles from previous Vacation films. The story itself wasn't a bad idea as far as remakes/re-boots go. Re-visiting the Giswalds, with Rusty now as the father figure for his own family, is a comedic premise with a lot of potential.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the film doesn't capitalize on that potential. The main issues is Ed Helms, who is hands down the weak link of the cast. Usually sufficiently funny, Helms never quite clicks as Rusty Griswald and the majority of his scenes fall flat. Furthermore, some of the cameos are almost painful to watch as some of their scenes drag on, despite not being even remotely funny. Lastly, unlike previous Vacation films, this offering lacks any semblance of heart or charm. Relying way too much on gross-out humor and random acts of violence, the film simply tries too hard to live up to it's predecessors when it should have focused more on being a solid comedy.