Vacation (2015)

Director:

John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein

Starring:

Ed Helms

Christina Applegate

Skyler Gisondo

Plot:

Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to “Walley World” in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons.

Review:

I watched the original National Lampoons Vacation years ago in high school and really just remember not liking it. Too many awkward situations I think, but not totally sure why I didn’t like it.

This movie certainly stood on its own and I liked it a lot better. There were of course awkward moments but they were so funny it didn’t bother me.

I liked the dynamic between Helms and Applegate and thought their characters were much more relatable than the original version of the movie. The kids were good, though I thought the youngest was channeling the kids from Talladega Knights a bit too strongly. James Griswold, Skyler Gisondo, was ridiculously cute and I thought his character was adorable.

Overall, I liked the movie. It was funny and off the wall but not outright stupid. Would watch another in the series.

4/5