Review Roundup: Is Vacation worth the trip to the theater?

In 1983 National Lampoon's Vacation paved the way for a film franchise that spawned six sequels, five of which star Chevy Chase. The 2015 follow-up for the series stars Ed Helms as Chevy's son, who happens to be going on a vacation of his own.

The reviews for the film fall on various ends of the spectrum, some thought it was great, others didn't find it funny at all, but acknowledged that it will be popular regardless, and others simply hated it. Let's take a trip across the spectrum of reviews.

ABC News:

"Vacation" is an unabashed exercise in excess. It moves quickly, it'll keep a smile on your face (beyond the contents of Chris Hemsworth's underwear) and it will draw out hearty laughs along the way. Daley and Goldstein have gotten the manic, screwball tone down to a near-science.

But in packing every other moment with something wild and anchoring it with a pointless arc about Debbie and Rusty's marriage, "Vacation" has diverged from the simple saneness and sophisticated, of-its-time satire of the first. They're in different leagues.

Don't be fooled by a brief appearance by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, either. This "Vacation" is not the real thing. And yet, saccharine can be sweet and satisfying in its own way.

The Hollywood Reporter:

Probably everyone has had the discomfiting experience of sitting stone-faced at a comedy while others in the theater are whooping with laughter. And so it was for me at Vacation, the gross follow-up to the Chevy Chase comedy from 1983, National Lampoon’s Vacation, a smash hit that launched a franchise. Judging from the laughter around me, this new movie should be popular.

The filmmakers’ unsubtle style is responsible for killing many of the jokes. But they do succeed with several of the performers. 

Fresno Bee:

If there was a 10th circle in Dante’s vision of Hell it would be reserved for movies like “Vacation.” Not only does the film feature a script that has less life than roadkill, a pacing that makes Los Angeles traffic look like the Indy 500 and as much humor as the mass funeral of orphans, nuns and kittens, it smears the good name of the 1983 Chevy Chase comedy, “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

If “Vacation” was a road trip, the most humane thing would be to slam into the first giant tree and end the agony.

Variety:

A new generation of Griswolds take to the highway in a miserably unfunny reboot of the venerable National Lampoon comedy franchise.

Key to the success of the “Vacation” movies was their underlying sweetness — the sense that, for all their foibles, the Griswolds were a surprisingly functional lot. Families looked up at the screen and saw a version of themselves reflected back. Look at the new “Vacation” and all that stares back is a great comic void.