I don't honestly remember much about the original film, or any of the others that followed it. I remember I liked it, but my wife was the one that wanted to see this due to the connection. She would point out little things such as scenes that were calling back to the first film in some way, stuff I would have missed. Did it help the film out? To me no, but if you are a fan seeing the original car or Chevy Chase back in action may help the movie out in your eyes. Both Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprise their roles as Griswolds in a fairly decent length cameo. They are now running a bed and breakfast where the family stops by for some advice before moving on.
The store revolves around Ed Helm's character Rusty. He is a pilot for a cheaper airline and is looked down on by the other pilots. His family is having issues and he doesn't really know how to address it. His two sons hate each other, and the younger one mercilessly bullies the older while the parents do nothing to stop it. The wife seems to have checked out, and you can tell early on how hard Rusty is trying. He comes up with this idea to put everybody in a car and drive to Wally World, a theme park on the other side of the country, so they can ride a new RollerCoaster that just opened. He is hoping the trip will bring the family back together, and allow them to work on some of their issues. As this is a Vacation movie, nothing goes right on the trip however.
The acting in this movie ranged from poor, to alright. Chase was good in his day, but I didn't care for him in this one. He was to over the top, and his gags were all misses for me. Chris Hemsworth was somebody I didn't expect to see in this, but he was also one of the stand out roles. He had some humor, and worked pretty well with what he was given. Helms came off as the same character he played in the Office, and with the same amount of talent. I like him, so that was fine with me, but if the Nard-Dog ins't your thing, you won't care for him here either.
CGI and Effects are not really a huge factor in these movies, but when you have a scene or two that looks as awful as they did here they are worth mentioning. If you can't make it look somewhat realistic, just leave it out.
The movie starts with a sequence of family photos that look normal until the final portion is revealed. A happy family standing on a beach until the lower half appears and we see a man in a speedo with a erection. A nice larger couple smiling, until we see the rest and there is a small child sandwiched between their fat. This actually works pretty well as a intro to the film, it shows the type of comedy you can expect. If stupid stuff like that doesn't make you smile or laugh, this film is not for you. It works off of sight gags and shock value with some juvenile humor thrown in. It is not smart, and it never really tries to be.
Is this a great movie....no. Will it be a classic like the original....no. But does that mean it is not worth at least checking out? I would say in theaters, not really. But I did enjoy it, the stupid and crude humor had me laughing pretty decently quite a few times. Seeing the younger brother try and murder his older brother was shockingly funny. The big finale at the coaster was great, and that stupid Prancer car was golden. While a lot of the various gags didn't hit their mark, enough did that I was able to have a good time. I would never buy this movie, and I have no desire to see it again. But if you are bored and looking for something to rent in a few months, you could do far worse.
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