One of the biggest surprises of summer last year was Horrible Bosses. While the calendar was choked with R-rated comedies, from The Hangover Part II to Bad Teacher to The Change-Up, the Seth Gordon-directed film had a great mix of cleverness and irreverence that made it a real joy to watch. Much of the credit for the comedy must go to John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, whose script turned the Strangers on a Train idea into a true laugh-fest. Let's hope they can turn that writing prowess into directing prowess because they've just been handed a high-profile project that's going to get a lot of eyes.
THR reports that Daley and Goldstein have been hired to helm the reboot of National Lampoon's Vacation, a series that originated with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and spawned three sequels (European Vacation, Christmas Vacation and Vegas Vacation). The duo was hired by New Line to write the last draft of the script and now the studio has given them the chance to direct as well. The project will be the first time that they have directed a feature, though they did direct a short film called Audio Tour together just last year. Most recently they wrote the script for the upcoming magic comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and they were recently hired to write the script for Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2.
The script will follow a grown-up version of Rusty Griswold (played by Anthony Michael Hall, Jason Lively, Johnny Galecki and Ethan Embry over the course of the franchise) as he tries to take his own family on a special trip.
It's hard not to be of two minds about this. While Daley and Goldstein are talented and the story sounds like it's more of an extension of the series than a reboot, the original movies have a devoted fanbase that will likely wretch at the idea of a reboot. What do you think of the idea? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
