“Vacation” is a cruel joke that so many people should have saw coming. If you ever watched “Horrible Bosses” or any of the other unfunny recent WB comedies, you saw this coming. There was destined to be a time when the unfunny R rated comedy hitched its wagon to a beloved property. Then, they slammed it headfirst into the ground.
Ed Helms isn’t a bad comedian, as he can work magic when the role meets his ability. Helms spends the film as an adult Rusty who could never make anything work. He says the wrong thing, he doesn’t seem to have a spine and everyone pushes him over. You don’t see the rebel pioneering spirit of his father in older Rusty. Hell, even his wife seems ready to leave him.
Rusty’s family seems bored to be in this movie. The young obnoxious sons are meant to cover the expectations of a new generation that should’ve been used for stem cells rather than casting shade on this franchise. From there, the film turns into a never-ending run of celeb cameos and bit roles that overpower the main cast at every turn. The whole sequence with Charlie Day was a constant kick in the pants about how bad the Ed Helms casting was for the lead. I buy Charlie Day as Chevy Chase’s kid. Helms just feels like his Hangover role dressed up in Griswold clothing.
Clark and Ellen show up to fulfill the nostalgia quota, while bringing along the Family Truckster. What’s weird about where they find the older Griswolds is that it means the Super Bowl ad from a few years ago was part of the movie continuity. Doesn’t anyone else find that weird? If you don’t remember it, I’ll drop the clip below.
Ultimately, I need films like this to remind that while some revamps work and you can bring childhood favorites back…there’s always catch. An eye must always be paid to creative choices and the talent behind the scenes. I wasn’t scared of the directing team behind “Vacation” working on Spider-Man until now. I need to see drastic improvement on their behalf, but I am heavily sweating how they’re going to handle the ol’ Web Head.
Release Date: OUT NOW!