The National Lampoon’s Vacation series is a beloved comedy franchise, but it has been up and down in terms of quality. The series kicked off in 1983 with National Lampoon’s Vacation, starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold taking their kids Rusty and Audrey on a road trip to Walley World.
Vegas Vacation With an approval score of just 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, Vegas Vacation is the lowest-rated entry in the mainline franchise. Its tired gags squander the promising Vegas setting and some great guest stars, like Wallace Shawn as a snooty blackjack dealer and Toby Huss as a Frank Sinatra impersonator. On paper, “the Griswolds go to Sin City” sounds like a hilarious premise but in its execution, Vegas Vacation has a dearth of good ideas.
Vacation The 2015 Vacation reboot, starring an eternally upbeat Ed Helms as an all-grown-up Rusty and a deadpan Christina Applegate as his wife Debbie, is an underrated gem that modernizes the franchise’s formula. The reboot is full of scene-stealing supporting players like Chris Hemsworth as Audrey’s strapping, ridiculously masculine husband and Charlie Day as a heartbroken river rafting instructor who steers the Griswolds into deadly rapids in a deranged bid to kill them.