So I want you guys to hear me out on this one. I went and
saw the new Vacation movie yesterday
and it stars Ed Helms as a grown up Rusty who tries to recreate his original
vacation to Walley World with his new family. The film was, let's say less than
satisfactory and my review has already been posted at this point so you can get
further into that here. I don't want to discuss how disappointing this film is
though, instead I want to focus on another movie that I believe is really the
true modern sequel to the eighties classic we deserve. It was the surprise
comedy of the summer in 2013 and, unlike the new film, it hits every beat that a
"Vacation" movie should.
It was about halfway through the movie when the thought
first came to me, "Why didn't they cast Jason Sudeikis as Rusty?" The
guy would have been perfect for the role as he embodies exactly what the guy
would have been like as an adult. It didn't take me too long to figure out and
remember why they didn't go after him for though, it's because he already made
the perfect Vacation sequel two years ago with We're the Millers. I know
what some of you are thinking, "that silly drug smuggling movie from a few
summers ago?" and you have every right to be skeptical but hear me out
first. If you watch this movie in the right light it plays as a fantastic
modern day Griswold adventure.
We're the Millers (2013)
Action, Adventure, Comedy
Directed By: Rawson Marshall Thurber
For those who haven't seen the film, it centers on a local
pot dealer named David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) who has had a turn of bad luck
that leaves him with a massive debt. To pay it off his employer sends down to
Mexico to mule a shipment of marijuana over the border. He knows trying to do
this task alone will guarantee him a seat in prison as he looks like your
stereotypical weed dealer, so he puts together a plan to get him, and this
"smidge of weed" across the border. He is going to put together a
fake family to create the illusion that he is just a dad on a vacation to
Mexico with his loving wife and two kids. To do this he recruits the help of
two of his neighbors and a seemingly homeless young girl, all of whom need to
catch a break that he might be able to give them. Getting over the border
proves to be the least of their worries however as the road from Mexico to
Colorado becomes their own personal highway to hell. As Clark Griswold always
says though "…getting there is half the fun. You know that."
Just on the surface this is clearly a movie inspired by the
original Vacation, it has the same
family dynamic and basic philosophy that the journey is more interesting than
the destination. Now I suggest taking it another step further and watching this
movie as a literal sequel to those movies. If you can suspend your disbelief
for two hours and look at this movie as a story of modern day Rusty Griswold it
makes it even more brilliant. It makes sense that he would grow up and move
away from his family and never really create one of his own. After all of the
misadventures they went on why would he ever want to recreate that for himself?
The idea that he grew up to be a successful pot dealer in Colorado is
believable when given the character's history.
It tackles the main issue with rebooting this franchise as
well, how can you sell the audience that a kid who grew up having the worst
family vacations would want to take a family on the road ever again? By having
him repay a drug debt you set up the perfect scenario for him to use his
experience with family trips to put together one of his own that stands as
something completely different than the originals. He would have the knowledge
to put together a picture perfect fake family as he lived that exact life his
entire childhood and would know how to have them act to make it all seem real.
This is all much more creative than another trip to Walley World with another
whiny suburban family.
A major reason the 1983 movie has lived on to become a
classic is in large part due to the heavy and incredibly intelligent social
satire peppered throughout the film. It was a genius look into the mentality of
the suburban eighties family and how the standard of living was changing in
this country. We're the Millers incorporates more of this satirical comedy in
the opening credits scene than there is in the entirety of the newest sequel. This
film is once again a brilliant look at the changing social standards of today
and how we treat the idea of "family". The film sheds light on the
ridiculous nature of the war on drugs while at the same time serving as an
exploration into the different archetypes of today.
Within the frames of this film, much like the original,
their journey across the country serves as the perfect vehicle to dive into the
psyches of the different kinds of people in this world. Just within his
"fake family" he has a stripper, a nerdy young man, and a stubborn
and homeless teenage girl. They all have their problems and they directly
relate to the society we live in today. On the road they meet all sorts of
different people; from liberal law enforcement to crazed drug dealers they seem
to hit the entire spectrum.
They successfully hit every beat with this to make the
perfect modern "Vacation" movie. They made the proper changes to make
it feel fresh and new, if you consider Sudeikis character to be Rusty than he
has found himself in an entirely new element. Forcing him to create a family
against his desire ends up making for a great role reversal moment of the film.
Instead of him being the excitable one who is trying to sell this trip to
everyone with him, it's the other way around. He isn't happy about this trip
from the start and it is up to his "family" to change his mind on
that. They even nail it right down to the "singing in the car" scene,
rather than have our main character impose a sing along its the rest of the
traveling passengers who force him to keep the station on as TLC's 'Waterfalls' blasts through the speakers.
This brings us to maybe the most important aspect of making
a proper National Lampoon’s film, the family. Without a good cast of characters
that share on screen chemistry the movie will fall flat, no matter how good the
script is. Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter
are phenomenal in their roles and create the perfect “dysfunctional family”
even though the characters they are playing are in no way related. You have the
blonde, beautiful, and intelligent wife, the weird, nerdy, yet charismatic son
and Emma Roberts character Casey Mathis could easily be one of the four
renditions of Audrey we have seen thus far. It was the perfect way to keep the
classic dynamic without making it feel like a retread on what was already done.
Rather than what the newest film did, replacing the kids with two sons that
really only serve for obnoxious jokes and physically humor (I will say they
were still one of the highlights of that film) and never really make you feel like
you’re watching a Griswold adventure.
I was disappointed leaving the theater the other day knowing
that the chances of ever really seeing a successful modern rendition of
Vacation basically died with that film. Of all the beloved eighties franchises
this is one that could be kept alive and fresh. It is a fantastic platform for
social satire but it seems the people in charge of these properties have no
concern of that as they let this new one literally fart all over that idea.
That being said, I am completely happy living the rest of my life knowing that
whether others know or it or not, we have already gotten our perfect modern
sequel. We're the Millers was one of the biggest surprises of 2013 for me and I
think it will only grow in popularity over time as it is a smart satire and
brilliant R rated comedy. If you want to watch a great "Vacation"
movie this weekend, stay home and rent this instead, you won't regret it.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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