Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
Sony Pictures
Directed by: Genndy Tartakovsky
Written by: Michael McCullers, Genny Tartakovsky
Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Jim Gaffigan, Kathryn Hahn, Chris Parnell, Mel Brooks, Chrissy Teigen
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, trades the stationary, dreary hotel for a more colorful, tropical setting as Dracula (Adam Sandler) and his ever-growing group of family and friends set sail on a family cruise to get a break from their busy lives running the monster hotel. The irony is not lost on Drac as they are moving from one hotel to a hotel on a boat but luckily this new setting and adventure offer plenty of fun for the whole family to enjoy. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is about as a relaxing and laid back time as you will get this summer movie season as it offers a simple plot, with a simple message full of enough jokes and sight gags to keep the kids laughing and you mildly entertained.
Bogged down and stressed by the constant workload of the hotel Mavis (Selena Gomez) decides the family is in much need of a vacation. So the monster clan decides to ditch the hotel and enjoy some fun in the sun on the high seas as they embark on a cruise to the lost city of Atlantis. While the cruise is a good way for the family to get away and finally relax, Drac is searching for something more as he is looking to fill the dark hole in his heart left by his late wife. Enter the ships Captain Erica (Kathryn Hahn), even though she has her own plans for Drac and the monsters the story turns from family vacation romp to one of romance and love as Drac “Zings” when he first sees Erica, setting off a serious of events that most of the adults in the room with figure out the outcome of within 15 minutes.
As an adult, I was a bit bored by Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. The plot was simple and predictable, the jokes were geared more for the little ones and I found my self only laughing one or two times aloud, mostly at the gremlins and wolf family. The cast is exceptional but outside of Drac, Mevis, and Erica, we get very little from everyone else as they are regulated to being punchlines. But my 6-year-old seemed to love it, declaring it was her favorite movie of the series as we left the theatre. While it doesn’t offer much for adults, she was laughing throughout and especially loved revisiting all of these characters. While there isn’t much to offer plot or joke wise, the visuals in Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation was fantastic, I often found myself lost in the wash of bright colors and visual style. The backgrounds, settings and secondary cast were often the most visually appetizing and the 3rd act is a feast for the eyes and ears as an epic DJ battle ensues to determine the fate of our monsters.
This one is definitely for the kids so if you theatre serves alcohol I highly suggest getting in the spirit of the movie, order a Mai Tai, kick back, enjoy the air conditioning and let your kids be occupied for 2 hours. Kids will enjoy the simple story, color aesthetic and goofy jokes and for that, I have to give Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation positive marks, it’s for them not us. I did deduct points for ending the movie on a 90s Macarena joke that will instantly have you rolling your eyes and tapping your feet at the same time. But seeing the joy and happiness on my 6-year-olds face as the credits rolled made every moment with this film worth it.