With December having snuck up on us, every home in America will soon be revisiting one of our favorite fictional families ever: The Griswold’s. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is unquestionably the best movie of the series. Bolstered by a top-notch performance by Chevy Chase – and Beverly D’Angelo, too – the movie stirs up feelings of holiday magic in whimsical ways that are both relatable and extremely far-fetched. Earlier this year, though, The Griswold’s returned in Vacation – a story about a grown up Rusty and his family’s quest to re-do his family’s original and hellish trip to Wally World. As Rusty tells his kids, “The new vacation will stand on its own,” which ends up being, for the most part, true…unless you’re an asshole.

Look – to try to compare this sequel (not a reboot, nor a remake) to its predecessors is extremely unfair. Comparing a comedy great like Chase to the Master-of-Being-OK that is Ed Helms is pretty bogus, while placing this movie side-by-side to the original or Christmas installment is just equally as insane. If viewers can watch the 2015 version as its own side quest, while appreciating its nods to the original (and cameos by Chase and D’Angelo), there’s some fun to be had.

As we’re reintroduced to Rusty, he’s a pilot for a budget airline called Econo-Air. He’s a schlubby, average Joe cut from the same cloth as his Dad, Clark. He and his wife Debbie (the rock solid Christina Applegate) have two kids – the shy, awkward, teenager James and the obnoxious, bullying, hysterical younger kid, Kevin. When Rusty realizes that his family could benefit from some family bonding time, he decides to relive his youth by taking his very own sons to the place where it all started: Wally World.

There’s a lot working in the movie’s favor – the lack of jokes airlifted from the Chase movies, the various cameos (which are part of the fun and will be left unspoiled), the reverse-dynamic of his rambunctious sons including the foul-mouthed little shit that is Kevin. We even get to take a trip to Audrey’s house where her husband Stone (Thor alert) steals the show with his love for farm animals, quads and very large penis. There’s plenty of other stops along the way and most of them are work, despite what was completely obliterated by the trailer. (And yes, the visit to Grandpa Clark’s house is both nostalgic and welcomed.)

Sure, reviews for the newest Vacation weren’t astounding, but take them with a grain of salt. Christmas Vacation, only has a 64 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes after all, and I’m pretty sure everyone alive wouldn’t hesitate to call that a classic. I’m not saying that the same goes for this Helms version or that you should run out and immediately buy a copy to love, cherish, and snuggle with at night. However, if you’re a fan of The Griswolds’ disastrous Vacations and have a hankering to hear Lindsay Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” on repeat, there are worse ways to spend the time and you just might enjoy the ride. I did.

Grade: B-