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As the fifth instalment of a film series that had its heyday in the eighties, you would expect a certain amount of nostalgia from Vacation. Luckily this chapter manages to mix nostalgia and mandatory nods to its predecessors with a contemporary sense of humour. The film centres on the endeavours of Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) to revive his family tradition of taking a cross-country road trip to “Walley World”, which he hopes will bring him and his wife marital salvation and his two sons closer together. From the outset we are well informed that nothing ever goes as planned for Rusty and his family. Cue major car troubles, numerous stops and a host of curious and eccentric characters. Of course all of this coincides with the efforts of Rusty and Debbie (Christina Applegate) to reignite passion into their relationship, and in a refreshing twist, the struggle of older brother James (Skyler Gisondo) to deal with constant harassment from his younger brother Kevin (Steele Stebbins). Also in the mix are some schmaltzy scenes of a budding first romance between James and your typical “girl next door” (quite literally, as this girl conveniently shows up at almost every motel or campsite they stop at along the way).
Helms fits seamlessly into the role of the (not-so) “cool dad” and Christina Applegate’s aloof Debbie provides a sharp contrast (to the point of seeming comically apathetic to her kids). It is through Helms’ humorous failures that the comic force of the film is primarily derived. Halfway through an uncomfortable dinner with the family next door Rusty competes with his neighbour in showcasing his bond with his son, and in a barrage of affection and with nowhere else to go in the act, begins to mime “playfully” stabbing his son with a kitchen knife. The film takes its tone from here in regard to morbid humour while gradually raising the bar as the trip progresses: as they continue on their quest to “Walley World”, Rusty catches the attention of an attractive young woman driving in the lane next to him. Distracted by their flirtatious gestures, she steers her car into the oncoming lane and is crushed by a truck. Momentarily distracted, Rusty misses this and merely sees a plume of smoke in his rear-view window, with the actual crash conveniently covered by his own bemused reflection in the mirror.
Admittedly some of the humour is over-worked and comes off as either clichéd or just plain obvious. This includes the onslaught of profanities Kevin directs at James, which becomes repetitive and loses its shock effect early on, along with some of the slapstick humour such as Rusty’s demand that his wife slam the car door on his arm, insisting that the car is fitted with a sensor that won’t let it close. Needless to say it does (twice) and this obvious gag becomes far more painful to the audience than to Rusty’s arm. Though some of the jokes miss the mark, the film tends to vary its comedic approach enough to recover from the blunders and keep up a lively pace. This is particularly evident through its effective use of the soundtrack featuring an array of up-tempo songs as we begin and end the film, and many songs that nicely complement the comedic moments. Take for instance the ghetto pumped song that accompanies the flirting between Rusty and his ill-fated fellow driver. Or the powerful rendition of (Can’t Live if Living Is) “Without You” that overlays the montage of the desperate attempts of a tour guide to drown himself in the rapids of the Grand Canyon as the family screams and struggles against the waves.
Overall, Vacation achieves what it sets out to do: provide a contemporary take on an old series while managing to fulfil Rusty’s tongue in cheek promise at the beginning of the film that “the new vacation will stand on its own”.
