Vacation did not seem like a vacation to
me at all. The writers/directors
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein must have used some kind of formula
in which each joke or episode has to be done at least twice and every so many
minutes there will be a joke about sex, bodily functions, or physical or verbal
bumbling. At least partly, the
formula is based on numerous versions of the original National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), which makes it outdated, but
even so, additional sequels are planned.
Clearly, many people enjoy this kind of humor, but to do each joke and
incident twice and not come up with anything close to creative makes me tired.
Rusty
(Helms) is a pilot for a small airline, and the story begins with his older
co-pilot thanking him for sticking up for him in keeping his job. Of course, the old man immediately
begins showing he is too old by repeating himself three times (funny the first
time, but overkill for the second and third) and doing such a bad job piloting
when Rusty is away from the cockpit, the plane starts bouncing around throwing
Rusty right into the boobs of an attractive passenger (this happens at least
three times). And this is only in
the first five minutes of the film.
Briefly,
Rusty overhears that his wife is tired of going to the same place for vacation
year after year, so he plans a trip to a theme park (Walley World) dear to his
heart without consulting his family.
He rents a foreign car, which he doesn’t know how to operate, and which
sets the scene for repeated jokes of the car being out of control and Rusty’s
repeated bumbling in trying to operate it. Of course, they have horrendous accidents, but they all come
out unscathed. Ah, how funny. They’re going on a 2,000 plus mile
journey, so there will be plenty of time for shenanigans, usually with Rusty
being the butt of the jokes because of his ineptness.
Aside
from simply not being funny, Vacation
is obnoxious in giving a high five to a young kid mouthing off, swearing, and being
cruel; glorifying/making light of over-drinking; and solving problems by
physical violence. The adolescent
son who has some appreciation for cultural and educational aspirations and
nonviolence is poked fun at; whereas his cheeky younger brother is held up as a
model. When his older brother
finally takes him down, this is presented as heroic because he did it by
(mildly) beating him up.
There
is one scene in Vacation that I did
find truly funny, despite its slapstick tinges. I won’t give anything away, but it takes place at Four
Corners, where four states meet and involves officers from each state
quarreling, each trying to maintain his/her control of territory.
Save your money; just rent the original National Lampoon’s Vacation, and
you will have seen a better version of this. Go only if bodily functions, stupidity, and sex make you
roll over with laughter.
Grade: F By Donna
R. Copeland
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