“And you, sir, are no Chevy Chase.”
National Lampoon’s Vacation and its ensuing franchise is a more-or-less-fondly remembered institution of 1980s America. The film served as an important stepping-stone for a certain John Hughes, for chrissakes, and its injection of crass, dark humor into the story of a typical family’s attempt at a wholesome road-trip vacation was melted permanently into a generation of impressionable young minds. A product of the coke-y, harsh vibe that seemed to dominate popular comedy at the time, Vacation was subversive, gross, and politically incorrect. These are different times.
The 2015 reboot of Vacation—its title now notably missing the National Lampoon seal of “quality”—follows the grown-up version of the original film’s son…