Vacation (National Lampoon)

Short Answers: National Parks... or Prequel

The Griswolds have gone on Vacation to Wally World, then tried again in another generation. They have also had two Christmas vacations, plus one each to Europe and Vegas.

It would seem obvious to go to another foreign place, except for the fact that mocking Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans would not really be read as "funny"today. Plus, they went the "exotic" route in the second Christmas movie.

Which leaves Australia, and we should not rule that out. While it's a well that has been gone to several times, it has not been done recently, and the Aussies generally have a sense of humor about themselves.

In America, though, there are still plenty of places to visit, but Hawaii or Louisiana are going to be places where, again, ethnic humor is too tempting.

Which leaves Mother Nature. The Great Outdoors. Namely, The National Parks. Attempted by a family who are very much "indoor cats." Having the weather, terrain, poison ivy, and various wildlife be the antagonists.

Rather than stick to one, the grand plan would be to experience three or four in one month, each with a different climate. To make it plausible that they spend five days in each and drive on the weekends between them would take some atlas work by the writers, but if they stuck to the West it could be done. 

One would have to be Yosemite or Yellowstone. One could be somewhere hot and arid, like The Grand Canyon or Zion, which is where they would start, and then head north to one of the Ys. And then they would finish somewhere cold, like Glacier National Park. 

Another option would be to finally see the trip that started it all, the original family vacation that Clark wants so desperately to relive with his family in the first movie. 

Retro is in. Think of the cars, the clothes, the music, the slang-- it would be this generation's Back to the Future, Grease, or A Christmas Story, in terms of the sets and setting. Clark remembers it now through a rose-tinted station wagon windshield... but what was it really like? 

The movie would reward those who saw the 1983 Vacation movie multiple times by depicting all of the things Clark describes to his kids in it.

It would also be a fun movie for kids to see with their grandparents, and ask... Gee, was that was it was really like?

In any case, an attempt should be made to include as many National Lampoon alums as are still around. If you are going to do nostalgia, do it right.