Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- irreverent
- raunchy
- crude
- road trip movie night
- adult comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly viewed the film as a crude, nostalgia-driven retread that lacks the charm, wit, and heart of its predecessor.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Griswold family's cross-country trip unfolds through repeated mishaps and comic detours on the way to Walley World.
The film combines family-bonding aspirations with potty-mouthed children, scatological sight gags, vomiting, fights, and sexualized set pieces.
Rusty follows the path of his father Clark by recreating the family journey to Walley World, directly invoking the 1983 film.
Rusty's plan for perfect bonding repeatedly collapses as the family's road-trip disasters undermine his romanticized vacation vision.
Films like Vacation, and why
National Lampoon's Vacation
shared road movie structure, dysfunctional family humor, escalating mishaps, and raunchy slapstick
We're the Millers
shared cross-country family travel, crude comedy, adolescent embarrassment, and episodic disasters
The Family Stone
shared dysfunctional family dynamics, darkly comic misfortune, and emotionally abrasive slapstick
Movie Details
- Directors
- John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
- Release Date
- 2015-07-28
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (4089)
Cast
- Ed Helms
- Christina Applegate
- Skyler Gisondo
- Steele Stebbins
- Chris Hemsworth
- Leslie Mann
- Chevy Chase
- Beverly D'Angelo
- Charlie Day
- Catherine Missal
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Paramount Plus Essential, YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Vacation about?
- A well-meaning father drags his reluctant family across America toward Walley World, where every attempt at perfect bonding detonates into raunchy road-trip chaos.
- What is Vacation like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Vacation as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Vacation violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Vacation as mild.
- What did critics think of Vacation?
- Critics broadly viewed the film as a crude, nostalgia-driven retread that lacks the charm, wit, and heart of its predecessor.
- Which films are like Vacation?
- Films with a similar feel include National Lampoon's Vacation, We're the Millers, and The Family Stone.
- How long is Vacation?
- Vacation runs 99 minutes.
- Where can I watch Vacation?
- In United States, Vacation streams on Paramount Plus Essential, YouTube TV.
