It's almost blasphemy to remake one of the best comedies of our lifetime by rebooting VACATION.
In no way the equal of the original, but damn funny in spots, this 2015 update focuses on Rusty Griswold, son of Clark, in his quest to bring his family closer together by driving cross country to WallyWorld.
Ed Helms is the innocent everyman in the same style as his dad, played again here in a small cameo by Chevy Chase.
I loved Helms on "The Office" and he's fun here, sparing nicely with his wife Debbie, played by Christina Applegate who isn't given nearly enough to do.
The scene stealers of the film are Rusty's sons. The older, innocent and sensitive brother James (Skylar Gisondo) and his lewd, rude and obnoxious younger brother Kevin, played by Steele Stebbins in a scene stealing, MOVIE stealing performance.
Steele drops a ton of profanity, nearly kills his brother six different ways and has perfect comic timing. The kid made me laugh out loud in almost every scene with every R rated bit.
Chris Hemsworth has some fun as Rusty's sister's boyfriend, blessed with a chiseled physique and especially blessed in one area that drives some pretty big & crude laughs.
If you go in expecting nothing (as we did) you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you approach this movie thinking it will hold a candle to the original classic in any way, its gonna stink.
Why can't the studios come up with original thoughts and plots to match the talent of this cast? Overshadowed by the charm of the original, this version is much more rude, crude and adult, but Steele Stebbins deserves his own comedy. That nasty little kid is one to watch.
He gets an A, the movie gets a C.
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