"If Vin Diesel can do it, so can I!"
Is this a sequel? A remake?
I didn't even realise there were 'Vacation' movies before this one but there you go.
Realising his family is stuck in a rut, Rusty Griswold takes his family on a road trip to the "Walley World" theme park in an attempt to reconnect with his wife and family.
Having not seen the other 'Vacation' movies I wasn't sure if that would be a problem when going into this sequel/remake? However, after being in the movie for about 5 minutes, I quickly realised that it didn't matter one bit.
It's a pretty straight forward "road trip" plot where Rusty and his family set out for a far away destination in an attempt to bring the family closer together.
For being such a simple and predictable plot I was, admittedly, pretty entertained throughout.
It's "in your face" comedy like the Americans do best and will keep you laughing (or at least chuckling) for the duration. If you're looking for gentle humour or intelligent comedy then this film will just plain turn you off. It would be like looking for subtlety in an episode of 'Family Guy', it just isn't there. Luckily, this is my sense of humour so I was right at home but for some it will be too much.
Ed Helms is totally silly and funny as goofy dad Russell Griswold alongside Christina Applegate as Debbie Griswold. They've got a lot of comedic chemistry and it was fun to watch them bounce off each other and have a laugh together.
The kids in this movie were a definite hit or a miss for me. The status change in their relationship was the funniest part of their pairing where the older brother is being bullied by the younger brother, it was a funny dynamic that had some good moments. However, one scene they would have me laughing and then the next joke just wouldn't land... Like, at all. There would be an awkward silence but mostly it would just move on and you'd be back to laughing again.
Chris Hemsworth is the best part of this movie for sure. He's great as Stone Crandall and is just what you'd expect from a sleazy and vain character like that. He doesn't take himself too seriously in this film and you can tell they're all having a great time with it.
Everything is over the top in this film. Nothing is believable and it is so pantomime but it really doesn't matter in the end. If you can suspend belief and take it for what it is then you'll feel satisfied at the end of the film. It takes us back to some of the great 90's comedies where they were just there to make you laugh and have a good time. The beauty of comedies is that they don't necessarily need to do much more than that. If it makes you laugh then it's done its job and if it makes you feel something too then that's a bonus.
This is where the film falls down mostly, the characters are so over the top that you don't really relate to any of them. Not a huge deal with 'Vacation' but on the rare occasion when they do try and make you feel something it just doesn't happen because you don't care about them enough to be moved.
Overall, 'Vacation' is absolutely ridiculous and exaggerated but is, at the end of the day, a bit of fun. Don't expect too much from it and you'll not be disappointed. It's got some laugh out loud moments with a lot of crude humour to make you giggle.
We could all do with being a little silly now and again anyway.
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