Parents' Guide to

Vacation

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Occasionally funny but mostly crude, rude, and forgettable.

Movie R 2015 99 minutes
Vacation Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 20 parent reviews

age 18+

Not a family friendly movie

constant crude language, horrible behavior from the younger brother, a lot of adult topics, men in underwear constantly, a bag is used to almost suffocate someone twice-young children definitely shouldn’t see that. It’s just for adults.

age 18+

There is laughter, jokes, bonding and you never stop laughing

A very funny comedy, not everything, has to be an academy award nomination. The brother's bullying was hilarious, and Hemsworth was just LOL, great casting, and great jokes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (20 ):
Kids say (51 ):

You'll likely have a few laughs watching this movie, but they're coming at the cost of base, gross-out, juvenile, sexual jokes. Although there's no doubt that the original Vacation was crass, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo (who make a brief appearance here) made most of the franchise memorable; but the new version -- despite a talented cast -- tries so hard to be provocative that the gags feel over-the-top and forced. The sequence of Debbie chugging an entire pitcher of beer and then proceeding to projectile vomit her way through a sorority obstacle course is especially gross, as are the references to rape, pedophilia, incest, and sex acts.

That's not to say that audiences won't laugh. Charlie Day pops up as a suicidal white-water rafting guide who leads the Griswolds on a killer (and admittedly hilarious) ride. Other actors -- like Norman Reedus, Michael Pena, and Keegan Michael Key, as well as Leslie Mann and Chris Hemsworth as, respectively, Rusty's sister, Audrey, and her attractive (and ridiculously endowed) husband, Stone -- also add much-needed relief from the brothers' squabbling and Helms' clueless attempts at family bonding.

Movie Details

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