Movie Review: ‘Vacation’ from Hell Can Still Produce Euphoric Laughs

 

Christina Applegate (left) and Ed Helms attend the premiere of “Vacation” at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, Calif. on July 27 (Photo Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Warner Bros./AP Images).

 

Vacation from Hell 


1/2

 

Some ideas are better off staying ideas.

 

For example, a pilot taking his family on vacation, but instead of flying to the destination, driving over 2,000 miles in an automobile he doesn’t even understand.

 

Furthermore, it is better to save money when planning a trip so one can afford a decent hotel, not wait until the last minute and settle on staying at the Sleep N Save motel with its blood stained showers.

 

Nevertheless in “Vacation,” Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms, “The Hangover”) is not the typical father, husband or pilot.

 

Instead of working for an established and wealthy airline, he takes a job flying planes for the low-budget airline Econo Air.

 

Instead of marrying someone with approximately the same amount of past romantic parties as he has (three), he marries Debbie “Do-Anything” Griswold (Christina Applegate), as she was known in college, who has 30 romantic partners on her “impressive” resume.

 

The Griswolds do everything differently than many families.

 

While their friends like Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) and Nancy Peterson (Regina Hall) visited Europe on their last vacation, the Griswolds visit the same Michigan log cabin every year.

 

And while most families have to deal with the eldest sibling bullying the younger siblings, in the Griswold family it is the exact opposite.

 

Older brother James (Skyler Gisondo) is the eccentric nerd, playing the guitar, keeping a diary and writing poetry in his spare time.

 

Kevin (Steele Stebbins) is his F-bomb dropping, embarrassed younger brother whose idea of fun is writing sexually explicit graffiti on James’ guitar, while getting excited at the possibility that James has AIDS.

 

After realizing that his family is tired of the mundane and formulaic vacations, he decides to take the family to the theme park Wally World, so that his kids can experience the joy he experienced with his father Clark (Chevy Chase).

 

The “perfect” family vacation turns into the vacation from hell.

 

As a matter of fact, hell might be better than their actual vacation.

 

Whatever can possibly go wrong goes wrong, from dips in the river, to sorority parties, to Rusty teaching James about sex acts that he does not even know anything about.

 

Throughout the vacation from hell, Rusty and Debbie have to find ways to keep their marriage afloat despite a lack of excitement and happiness.

 

“Vacation” is arguably the funniest movie thus far in 2015.

 

Laughter will turn into tears because it is so funny.

 

And upright moviegoers will double over in laughter and possibly even miss some scenes because of the gut-busting comedy.

 

“Vacation” is an excellent, but sophomoric comedy much in the same vein as Helms’ other comedies like “The Hangover” franchise and “We’re the Millers.”

 

The only aspect of “Vacation” that will have moviegoers scratching their head is the fact that the Griswolds can afford to live in an affluent neighborhood but choose to stay at a sleazy motel like the Sleep N Save.

 

On a more heartwarming note, “Vacation” is about a family coming together despite the obstacles.

In church, people often say, “a family that prays together, stays together.”

 

But for the family and vacation from hell, the family that beats down another family learns how to treat their own family.


REGAL RATINGS

FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT

THREE CROWNS=GOOD

TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE

ONE CROWN=POOR


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