Reviews for Betty's Summer Vacation

The average rating for Betty's Summer Vacation based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-21 00:00:00 Dick J. Peck I want you to think of the worst thing possible. Now think of the second worst thing possible. Now, imagine someone doing first the worst thing and then the second worst and add a laugh track to the whole process. That's this play. We're talking rape, incest, murder, dismemberment (both the member and also heads), harrassment ... and that's just the first act. Yeah, and this is a comedy. With a live laugh track. In many ways, this reminds me of the scene in "Natural Born Killers" (name checked in the play) that plays like a sitcom (that is, the scene when Juliette Lewis leaves her family) just played out over a two act play. It goes for laughs (and gets them, make no mistake about that) even when what is onstage should not be laughed at. No, I could not see this play ... but kudos to anyone with a strong enough stomach. No doubt it would be a traumatizing night where you would laugh and then feel really bad about laughing. Of course it's satire. It's meant as a lambasting of the tabloid news that was all the rage when first produced (1999; the play mentions specifically OJ Simpson, the Bobbitts, and Michael Jackson), which the movie above also wanted to discuss (and that in 1994). I think Betty's Summer Vacation does it with a lot more wit and focus than Oliver Stone's mess of a film (but then again, I'm partial to True Romance ... the remake Quentin Tarantino wrote after he saw what Stone did to his screenplay). Yup. Funny, daring and so offensive I can't imagine ever seeing a production of this play.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-08-28 00:00:00 Wade Hilliary Durang uses absurdism to make a point, not sure what this point was... not really a fan.