Sandy Kenyon reviews National Lampoon's 'Vacation' reboot

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Years ago, the National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, highlighting the misadventures of the Griswold family, had viewers laughing out loud.

Now, a new generation will be introduced to the family in a reboot starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate, the sixth installment of the series.

But memories of the original "Vacation" only serve to point out how pointless it was to try and re-make the movie. The idea is just as crazy as it sounds.

Christina Applegate stars as the wife of Ed Helms - who plays the son of Clark Griswold - portrayed by Chevy Chase in the original movies. Chase has only a small part in this one which, for the sake of his reputation, is definitely for the best. Leslie Mann is featured as his daughter, all grown up and married to Chris Hemsworth.

The objective of the Griswold family remains the same: to reach a family theme park. But a family trip that was so fraught and funny in 1983 is merely mindless and mean-spirited now.

Laugh-out-loud jokes have been replaced by gags that are just plain gross. In one scene, the family swims in raw sewage they've mistaken for a hot spring. Even this isn't as cringe-worthy as the kids, whose language is as bad as their attempts at humor.

This is toxic waste masquerading as a movie, an assault on your senses so bad it is truly painful to watch. It doesn't matter what you do to make a living; a full day at work is gonna be a lot more fun than this "Vacation."