I am a big fan of the original National Lampoon’s Vacation movie and Christmas Vacation is my all-time favorite Christmas movie. The other two movies have their charm, but it is the first two Vacation movies I like the best. When I first heard about the 2015 Vacation movie I was not that interested as I thought that it was a reboot, but when I heard it was a sequel I started to get more excited.
How to Download Vacation
Vacation was released on July 29, 2015. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Introduction
This time Rusty is all grown up and played by Ed Helms. He lives with his wife Debbie who is played by Christina Applegate. Much like his father, the legendary Clark Griswold, Rusty is a real family man who just wants his family to be happy. He and his wife are in a bit of a rut and Rusty decides that a family road trip like the one he took in the original Vacation movie with his family to Wally World over on the West Coast is what they need.
The New Griswold Road Trip
The new Griswold road trip gets off to a bad start as the RV that Rusty rents is complicated, to say the least. The two kids, teenager James and 12-year-old Kevin are awesome and probably my favorite characters in the movie. It is the younger brother who is the bully and the stuff he says and does is really funny and the reason this movie was not rated PG-13!
Disastrous Stops
The Griswold road trip sees them stop at a few places along the way, each with disastrous results. They head to Debbie’s college where her party girl past is revealed and a trip to a “hot springs” sees them ending up swimming in raw sewage, which Debbie rubs all over her face. It is gross, but man is it freaking hilarious.
Visiting Debbie’s Sister
There is clearly a bond with the family, but things just keep going wrong. Eventually, they have to make a pit stop at Debbie’s sister’s place and this is where we get two awesome cameos. Debbie’s sister is played by Leslie Mann and her husband is Chris Hemsworth who shows off his comedy chops here.
Reunion with Rusty’s Parents
The Griswolds eventually make a stop at Rusty’s parents’ house. This was a surprise for me as I had no idea that Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo were in the movie and it was awesome to see them even if Beverly D’Angelo looks like a completely different person now thanks to all the work she has done.
Epic Cameos
Vacation is stacked with epic cameos, Chris Hemsworth and Leslie Mann were great, but we also have Nick Kroll, Norman Reedus, Michael Pena, and Colin Hanks to name some that spring to mind. There is a 4 corners scene with four different cops that is awesome. While Vacation is a gross-out and wild comedy, like the previous Vacation movies, the message of family and sticking together is the message here and that is nice to see.
Conclusion
While I would certainly not say that Vacation 2015 comes anywhere close to the first two movies, this would go above European and Vegas Vacation if I were ranking them. This ended up being way better than it had any right to be and I have to say I am disappointed that they never made a sequel to this.
