Warner Brothers
Yesterday, we brought you news of Showgirls: A Story of Hope, the in-the-works sequel to the 1991 bomb Showgirls. Today, another decades-old film gets a new life: National Lampoon's Vacation.
The original 1983 Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, was one of the biggest comedy hits of the decade. Based on an ill-fated Disney vacation from screenwriter John Hughes' childhood, the film chronicles the Griswold family's disastrous road trip to "Wally World." The movie was followed by three sequels about the Griswolds (European Vacation, Christmas Vacation , Vegas Vacation), each more wildly implausible than the last. (There was also a 2003 TV movie, but since Chase wasn't involved, it is dead to us.)
The new Vacation movies will feature the Griswold's son Rusty, now a dad himself. Rusty is a strange character, in that he's never been played by the same actor twice; the original Rusty was Anthony Michael Hall, followed by Jason Lively (Blake's brother!), Johnny Galeki and Ethan Embry. (To be fair, the other Griswold sibling, Rusty's sister Audrey, was also played by 4 different actresses.) None of these actors seem likely to be recast, although we'd put in a vote for Embry (he was so cute in Can't Hardly Wait!).
David Dobkin of Wedding Crashers fame has signed on to direct the new film. And Chevy Chase is rumored to be up for a cameo, along with Mrs. Griswold Beverly D'Angelo. But otherwise, it's not really going to bear much resemblance to the original franchise at all. So, asks EW's Popwatch blog, why even call it a sequel? Because sequels make money, silly! People love seeing things they've seen before! If they couldn't get the rights to the Vacation title, seems like New Line might as well have called this one Little Miss Sunshine 2. They're both about road trips, right?
Do you think sequels are ever as good as the originals? Chime in below!
