Rusty Griswold is all grown up with a family of his own. But that family is in a rut and he wants to shake them out of it. In order to bring them closer together, he comes up with the idea of driving across country to Walley World, like his Father did when he was a boy. Things don't go exactly according to plan, of course. And the trip has as many detours as it does cameos. The movie has the curious distinction of simultaneously being a sequel (the prior films are acknowledged and referenced), a remake (the plot and some scenes are the same as or very similar to those of the earlier film) and a reboot (new film in a dormant franchise with a new cast).
Cast
Ed Helms as Rusty Griswold
Christina Applegate as Debbie Griswold
Leslie Mann as Audrey Griswold-Crandall
Chris Hemsworth as Stone Crandall
Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold
Skyler Gisondo as James Griswold
Steele Stebbins as Kevin Griswold
Who will like this movie
Along the fans of the original "Vacation" movie, I believe that anyone who enjoys the recent wave of adult comedies such as "The Hangover" and "Bridesmaids" will find this one good for a few laughs as well.
Phantom Thoughts
Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not really a big fan of reboots or remakes....with very few exceptions. However, as I stated in the summary, "Vacation" is all these things, and yet none at the same time. But for me personally, I view this as more of a sequel than anything else. It was a very risky move. If it was too similar to the first movie, it would be seen as a poor knock off, too much of a deviation, and it would be discounted as not really part of the series. But in this Phantom's humble opinion, they got it right. And in many different levels as well.
Let's start with the cast. Ed Helms plays grown up Rusty perfectly. (He is the sixth actor to portray this character) You can see the apple does not fall far from the tree as there is a bit of his Father, Clark, in the performance, but not so much so that he's not his own man as well. Christina Applegate's time growing up on the TV comedy "Married with Children" proves she learned a lot about comedic timing. If she isn't delivering a punchline, she is setting one up in genius fashion. Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins are not just throw away roles as Rusty and Debbie's boys, but rather real, fleshed out characters. And I will say this: if you think women swooned over Chris Hemsworth when he takes his shirt off as "Thor", they will be fainting in the aisles on what he shows off here.
The plot itself does a great job of balancing old and new too. There were throwbacks to some of the original story and gags used while giving it's own, newer spin on it. Some of you may have already seen the trailer that shows the now classic scene with Christie Brinkley in the Ferrari revamped for this version. There's a couple more enjoyable instances like that.
Now for some things you may or may not know: (FYI- this is the point where the SPOILERS start) The goal for Rusty is to take his family on the fictitious new rollercoaster "The Velociraptor" in the fictitious amusement park of Walley World. The cast filmed this scene on an actual rollercoaster, as they did in the original. But for this one, they used Six Flags Magic Mountain on what I believe to be Revolution. One of the directors, John Francis Daley plays the ride operator in the movie.
Christina Applegate has an unusual connection to the Vacation Series. During the opening credits of the show she made her debut on: "Married with Children" there was stock footage of Chicago used, which included a shot of the Griswold Truckster station wagon from the original movie.
The opening date for this "Vacation" was moved to July 29th because that is the 32nd anniversary of the release of the original "Vacation". And like that one, this one also has photos during the credits at the end. But the added (very comedicly well done) real vacation photos at the beginning of the credits included one of the late John Hughes who wrote "Vacation", "European Vacation" and "Christmas Vacation".
There were so many things that was working against pulling this one off, but I think the risk was worth the reward. It worked. And it worked well.......and funny.
Until next time, see you in the center seat.
