Vacation (2015) (11/3/2015)

Rated R for crude and sexual content and language throughout, and brief graphic nudity

Starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate

Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein

There is a decent message here about family and marriage, unfortunately its buried under a pile of trash.

Hoping to bring his family closer together and to recreate his childhood vacation for his own kids, an adult Rusty Griswold takes his wife and two sons on a cross-country road trip to Walley World. Needless to say, things don’t go quite as planned.

Even though Christmas Vacation is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies and the original Vacation film is hilarious, I really had low expectations coming into this film. Why not just leave a “classic” alone.

Ed Helms and Christina Applegate do an OK job. Although they deliver a couple laughs, there’s not great chemistry between them. There is a log list of cameos, which makes some great scenes as well as some really inappropriate ones.

The film is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein. This is their first feature film and I have to admit I admire their courage. I mean, it’s crazy to make your directorial debut by directing a sequel to a classic that released over 3 decades ago. They do a decent job, but unfortunately they rely on the lowest hanging fruit for some cheap laughs.

Sure there are a couple scenes that made me laugh but for the most part, it’s over-the-top gross or completely inappropriate. For example, in one scene the Griswold family swims in what they believe is a hot spring only to discover that it is in fact raw sewage. So if you think bathing in human excrement is funny then you may enjoy this film more than I did.

This is not the kind film that I would recommend and I certainly did not enjoy watching it. But hopefully this review will be useful to you and you can encourage your students and/or children to “Skip it.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Definitely not. There are a lot of sexual references throughout and a couple of scenes involving nudity.

There are 58 f-words and 37 s-words, some other profanities and a lot of sexual references.

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. How would you describe the Griswold family?


2. What are some of the issues or problems in the Griswold family?


3. How are those issues or problems resolved by the end of the film?


4. What are some things you have done to resolve conflict?

Read Colossians 3:12-14

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


5. What advice does Paul give us to resolve conflict?