Vacation  ★★★

I LIKE the original National Lampoon’s Vacation, but not enough to trash the 2015 remake.

In Vacation, Ed Helms plays the son of Chevy Chase’s original character and Christina Applegate steps in for Beverley D’Angelo while this time they have two sons, rather than boy and girl.

All this is spelt out in a homorous early aside when  they talk about their new vacation driving across America being better than the original one, in a knowing wink to critics claiming this film isn’t as good.

Sue me if you want, but I laughed out loud for a good part of this remake. Everything about their new hybrid car is hilarious (a swastika button on the remote?) and the entire sequence at his sister’s farm is a gem. Chris Hemsworth is a good, versatile actor (unlike his brother so far) and his cameo as a TV weatherman who prances around like John Wayne and has delusions of grandeur, is terrific.

Helms, one of the stars of the Hangover series, takes exactly the right approach to his character and Applegate shines in many of her scenes. The battling sons are also fine.

Watch out for the hot springs and hotel spa scenes as well as a nice cameo from a Walking Dead star. Overall, consistently funny. The only downside is Chevy’s lacklustre cameo, perhaps proving that the story did need a fresh remake with new faces.