Why is 'Vacation' Trending On Netflix?

The recent stardom of it's cast, a global pandemic and the fact that audiences love a good road movie, have turned Vacation into one of Netflix's most popular releases this week

Christina Applegate and Ed Helms in 'Vacation' (CREDIT: Warner Bros.)

by Jack Linsdell 

This week, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's Vacation debuted on Netflix UK and has remained in the "top ten" trending list ever since. The 2015 road-comedy is a legacy sequel to, and a modern remake of, John Hughes' 1983 classic National Lampoon's Vacation, as well as the fifth installment in the series. It's a star-studded, adult-rated comedy with an extended cameo from series veteran Chevy Chase, and after legging out well alongside Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, became a moderate box office success with $107 million worldwide on a $31 million budget. Yet, with "mixed to negative" reviews and a poor post theatrical life, Vacation was far from an unmitigated success. So, why was it trending on Netflix this week?

Considering that most young people (who make up the majority of Netflix's audience) have most likely never heard (let alone seen) John Hughes' initial National Lampoon trilogy, we can count out franchise or IP appeal. In fact, the film itself acknowledges this is in a very "nod and wink" way early on when now adult Rusty Griswold tries persuading his family to come to Wally World to relive his childhood vacation experiences there. Anyway, it's possible that some parents watching Vacation with their older kids on Netflix may have some nostalgia for the Hughes classic movies. However, considering Vacation kept most of it's (loose) ties to the franchise well out of the marketing, it's highly unlikely that enough adults would have made the connection and made a choice to watch it based on generational nostalgia. 

What's more likely is that Vacation offered folks still stuck in some form of lockdown at home the chance to see several well-liked and popular actors have the time of their life for 99 minutes. Our core family is made up of Ed Helms (The Hangover trilogy), Christina Applegate (Netflix's Dead to Me), Skyler Gisondo (Booksmart, Santa Clarita Diet) and Steele Stebbins. I've liked Gisondo for many years as he's been in many excellent TV and film comedies, with roles in Time Freak and Four Christmases being particular highlights. Anyway, I digress. We also have a small supporting role from Chris Hemsworth that plays upon his Thor fame and sex appeal, not to mention cameos from Ron Livingston, Leslie Mann, Michael Pena, Charlie Day and Colin Hanks. The point is that being a star-studded comedy certainly makes Vacation stand out from countless Netflix originals with a comparative lack of "known names" in it. Heck, the fact that people like Gisondo, Applegate and Pena have only become "stars" to some degree after 2015 probably explains why Vacation is more popular in 2020 on Netflix than when it was released theatrically five years ago. Seeing a bunch of (at least now) known and well-liked actors popping up in an adult comedy is a big selling point for Vacation today.

However, the Ed Helms/Christina Applegate comedy also belongs to a well-loved genre - the road movie. When done well, or at least being somewhat of a "funny two hours", road comedies tend to reep huge financial, critical and cultural benefits. Classics like Smokey and the Bandit and Thelma and Louise have stood the test of time because audiences love a well-made (or very funny) road movie. In recent years, the genre has produced some modern hits that break big because they are star-led, adult-rated and aggressively "fun" movies. Sure, We're The Millers ($270 million worldwide) is better than Identity Thief ($174 million) but nonetheless, audiences like road comedies because they are character-driven, (usually) funny and short enough to warrant some quick, light-hearted entertainment. Okay, Vacation is somewhere middle of the range (We're The Millers and Robin William's RV are far better recent road comedies), with an impressive cast and only some standout "fun" moments (including Helms and Gisondo having the "talk"), but it is certainly not high art. The genre also gives us heartwarming and relatable stories about families, which is also a big factor behind their audience appeal. 

Overall, Vacation was perhaps a victim of when it was released, and had it have debuted in theatres this year (minus the pandemic of course), would have been far more liked, and therefore a bigger commercial hit, from the offset. It's current trending status on Netflix can be attributed to the stardom found by most of the cast since it's 2015 release, who are more of a draw to a 2020 audience (as well-liked actors from popular films and series) than folks five years ago as relative unknowns. Also, it's release on the streaming platform during the middle of a pandemic has probably improved it's appeal by delivering 99 minutes of adult-rated, escapist and fun entertainment to folks still stuck at home in lockdown. Oh and there's also the chance that folks unable to go on their own summer vacations just liked the title...