You could do worse for a vacation and probably have.
Vacation
Grade: B-
Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein
Screenplay: Goldstein (Horrible Bosses), Daley (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)
Cast: Ed Helms (They Came Together), Christina Applegate (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)
Rating: R
Runtime: 99min.
by John DeSando
With the exception of Spy and Trainwreck this summer, the standard comedies are just not funny, until you take a vacation with the Griswold family across the country to Walley World. Yes, the son of the original Griswold is played with charm and spot-on timing by Ed Helms as Rusty. He takes the role played by his dad, Clark (Chevy Chase), and makes Rusty more loving and vulnerable with a real heroism, not just slapstick goofiness.
The comedy is best called “American absurdism” as it presents outlandish setups that also bring their wisdom once the family goes through them. In fact, they deal directly with “crap,” the real stuff, after which we all will be wary of strangers bearing directions, especially from Arkansas (no, not Bill Clinton but an allegorical interpretation along those lines wouldn’t be too absurd).
This being thoroughly American comedy, the subtext of family unity is ever present. The clichéd adolescent boy and teen brother, both bored and rebellious, morph into kids who can take the licks and actually grow from the experiences.
As to the foul mouth of the young Kevin Griswold (Steele Stebbins), I have trouble with his repetition of “F” bombs—I don’t think the kid in Bad Santa uttered one. The use seems to me at the very least uncomfortable, in bad taste even for an absurd production.
The other subtext or secondary theme is the parents’ need to grow up in their love: Rusty and Debbie Griswold (Christina Applegate) are constantly working at their marriage, not in an absurd way but as adults who don’t yet get what a wholesome marriage is. Not unlike the triple corkscrew ride at Wally World, they have some potential dangers to their happiness.
Because a comedy like this is mostly set pieces, I am reluctant to mention too many, like an over informative trailer. I will say the Hot Springs scatological swim will make you squirm and at the same time you’ll be able to find the allegorical importance for the film immediately. The shootout at the four corners of states out West is one of the wittiest of the film, displaying hostilities among states and the never ending cycle of state independence struggles.
It’s not the greatest vacation, but like our own, it has its moments of fun.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
