7/28/15

Vacation

A happy audience member said while exiting this screening, "I LOVE stupid movies!" Okaaaayy... This is not only stupid, it is stomach-churningly icky; even the title sequence is gross. (Watch the preview below.) Listening to the audience in the lobby later, I realized that MANY people enjoy stupid movies, so this one should make money.

Was the National Lampoon's Vacation this profane? (I didn't see it.) Well, I guess once was not enough. Walley World: Brace yourself! Twenty-two years later, the Griswolds are coming back! This R rating is richly deserved with disgustingly anatomical humor and F-bombs by the score.

The cast:
  • Ed Helms ("We're the Millers") is Rusty Griswold; he was a kid the first time he visited this theme park and the happy memory still lingers. He is certain that this cross-country road trip (in a Tartan Prancer from Albania) will bond his family again. This well-meaning character is the most socially tone-deaf doofus I have ever had the misfortune to watch.
  • Christina Applegate ("Anchorman") is his wife Debbie. She is patient when Rusty changes the voice in the GPS to Korean and she remains the voice of reason until they stop by her old sorority on their road trip. Yikes!
  • Skyler Gisondo ("The Amazing Spider-Man") James is the only "normal" member of this goofy family. He is bullied by his younger brother and totally misunderstood by his father, so my heart went out to him!
  • Steele Stebbins ("A Haunted House 2") Aren't there laws that prevent youngsters from talking like Kevin? This kid is cruel and borderline homicidal. And his parents are oblivious. As a target of childhood bullies, I fail to see the humor. Aarghhh!
  • Leslie Mann ("The Other Woman") Audrey Griswold can't forget what a good time she had when she and Rusty were children. Of course now she has the marriage right out of Central Casting, so she must be blissfully happy...Right?
  • Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") plays Stone Crandall. the insanely conceited TV weatherman Audrey married. Hemsworth has an absolute blast sending up this character!
  • Catherine Missal ("Law & Order") Adena never suspects that the pedophile who talked with them by the pool is actually Rusty, James' inept father trying to be his wingman.
  • Chevy Chase ("Community") Did you think Clark Griswold was forgotten? Of course not!
  • Beverly D'Angelo ("Mom") Wherever Clark can be found, his devoted Ellen is close at hand.
"Horrible Bosses" collaborators Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley wrote and directed this latest Ed Helms' outing (they must like him) so there is no one else to blame. I can only say this: If you are a fan of stupid movies (and you know who you are), this one is for you!
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See what I mean about icky:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi305639449
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