Caffeinated Clint
When news first hit that “Wedding Crashers” helmer Dave Dobkin was producing a ‘reboot’ of the classic “National Lampoon’s Vacation” I think it’s safe to say we fans of the franchise (“Cousin Eddie’s..” is not canon; it’s just not!) all united in a chorus of sigh. That original film, starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as the hapless Griswolds, is such an unyielding laugh orgy that no ‘reboot’ or ‘remake’ or whatever you wanna call it can top it… it’s just a special frickin’ film.
Still, Dobkin tells Collider that the script for the film has come out great. Hmmm. He suggests the film will be so different than the 1984 film and not-so-rebootish that it might be able to stand on it’s own sans marketing crutch. Guess it’s a good start fixing the film around ‘Rusty’ as opposed to Clark. Still…
Dobkin on the script :
“Oh my God dude, this script came out so good it’s crazy. It’s not a total reboot by the way, it’s a reboot of the franchise but it’s Rusty’s story. It’s not trying to start again from zero.”
On why the film’s main character will be grown-up son, Rusty :
…it’s great because it’s all about how you make the mistakes your father made, that your parents made (laughs). It’s so smart, and it’s insanely funny. The guys that wrote Horrible Bosses, Goldstein and Daly, wrote it. We’re just about to go out for casting for that.
Dobkin said he can’t confirm or deny whether Chevy Chase will be back as Clark Griswold… but I’m betting he’s already a lock.
What isn’t a lock is the film’s setting; At this stage Dobkin doesn’t know if they’ll have the Griswold’s traveling to ‘Wally World’ just as they did in 1984 :
To be determined. TBD. This is actually one of the things that we were on the phone with New Line discussing the destination. In some ways it works brilliantly, and then for other obvious reasons it may or may not. But it’s really cool, it’s insanely funny. Look one of the things I love about the original movie is comedies overall do not stand up over time, the sense of comedy changes in each generation, but Vacation is still as shocking and as funny as it was when it was made. There’s stuff in that movie that you would think was insane today: “Daddy taught me how to French kiss,” I mean there’s just things that are insane, it’s off it’s head. So that’s why I went for it, cause I really loved it and I just love the themes of that movie. The whole thing about how family is so fucked up and all of our good memories are somehow memories only in the photographs and the real experiences are all on the borderline of being horrendous. There’s just a great universal truth in that thing. And look they destroyed the franchise in the second and third movie, but the first is just an absolutely brilliant piece of filmmaking.”
“Christmas Vacation” was rubbish, he says!? Blasphermy! It’s terrific!
Anyway, any ideas for ‘Rusty’? Personally, I think they should bring Anthony Michael Hall – who originated the character in the first – back to reprise the role.
