Vacation

"What could go wrong?"

2015 1h 39m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 4,094

ComedyAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hoping to bring his family closer together and to recreate his childhood vacation for his own kids, a grown up Rusty Griswold takes his wife and their two sons on a cross-country road trip to the coolest theme park in America, Walley World. Needless to say, things don't go quite as planned.

“What could go wrong?”

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Cast

Ed Helms
Rusty Griswold
Christina Applegate
Debbie Griswold
Skyler Gisondo
James Griswold
Steele Stebbins
Kevin Griswold
Chris Hemsworth
Stone Crandall
Leslie Mann
Audrey Griswold
Chevy Chase
Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo
Ellen Griswold

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Francis Daley
Writers: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Francis Daley, shot by Barry Peterson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Mothersbaugh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jamie Gross shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ed Helms and Christina Applegate and Skyler Gisondo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What could go wrong?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1524930 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Francis Daley directs. Barry Peterson behind the camera. Mark Mothersbaugh scores. Jamie Gross cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.
2Released 11 years ago.
3Directed by John Francis Daley, shot by Barry Peterson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mark Mothersbaugh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jamie Gross shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ed Helms and Christina Applegate and Skyler Gisondo carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What could go wrong?".
8IMDB entry: tt1524930 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "route 66", "vacation", "grand canyon", "dysfunctional family".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barry Peterson
Original score: Mark Mothersbaugh
Editing: Jamie Gross
Production design: Barry Robison
Costume design: Debra McGuire
Makeup / hair: Shunika Terry-Jennings
Sound: Gregg Landaker
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $31,000,000
Box office: $104,400,000
Return: 337% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Vacation (2015)

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John Francis Daley

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-11-23
★ 7/10
When the family vacation turns into a nightmare! Having not seen any previous films in this series, I had nothing to compare with it and to blame for. Though I have seen many similar films, but it was not as bad as they say. In this kind of theme, the basic storyline always remains same, the remaining parts like the characters, locations and the diversions in the story developments are the key. I think they did that decently, the two new directors who also penned the screenplay. Well, this is the story of the Griswold family of a couple and their two teen sons. After realising his family is spiritless with the normal life, the husband surprises his wife and the children to go a vacation. The trip is supposed to have fun, but they find hard to come along in a single mood as a family. Meanwhile, their journey begins to face many hurdles, though they are not giving up. So how memorable their adventure becomes is what unfolds in the remaining section. The cast was good. Both, Ed Helms and Chritina Applegate was impressive, though the film is not laudable. Not all the jokes, but some of them were really cool and most of them were adult stuffs. Yep, this is an R rating film, not a family film, despite the impression you get from its posters. So for the grown ups, this is not a bad film to give a try. I can't suggest or reject on the merit of its previous installments, because I've already given the reason. People like me can definitely have a good time with it. 6.5/10
Thomaxz2018-01-07
★ 9/10
As one theres has seeing the originals, I have feared it was a complete rip-off, but yes there is many smilarities, but they have actual succefull made a movie with so much fun and new spins.
r96sk2025-02-06
★ 5/10
<em>'Vacation'</em> is a poor final film (for now, you know they'll make another some day) of this series. It is officially a sequel to the previous films, though it's practically a reboot of sorts - one that, evidently, didn't lead to much. All of this just feels lacklustre and forced. Ed Helms and Christina Applegate aren't the best pairing, their performances aren't anything to shout about either. Helms particularly feels ill-fitting for his role. Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins, the kids, are actually fairly decent, better than the adults for sure. Chris Hemsworth's part is a little amusing, though very quickly gets repetitive; despite minimal screen time. Another two who also appear for only a short time are Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. Good to see 'em return but again, forced. D'Angelo is super sidelined, barely has a line iirc. Some of the 'supporting cast' are at least interesting to see involved, namely Charlie Day, Ron Livingston, Keegan-Michael Key, Regina Hall and there's a small cameo from a certain <em>'The Walking Dead'</em> star - I didn't expect it, but welcomed all the same. Anyway, yeah... glad this was the last movie. This 2015 flick is very short of laughs. 5/10 it is, for me.