Even vampires need a little love
Romance comes calling in ‘Hotel Transylvania 3’
Between the goofy humor, Adam Sandler’s hallmark gibberish and an unfortunate return of “The Macarena,” “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” houses an unexpectedly affecting story of modern love with a creaky vampire dad.
The newest installment of the animated comedy with old-school monster favorites sends sulky hotelier Dracula (voiced by Sandler), his friends and their families on a cruise to the lost city of Atlantis. Again directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, “Summer Vacation” (eegE; rated PG; in theaters nationwide Friday) is as confidently silly as it is wholly predictable — not that your average kid is going to mind.
The “Hotel Transylvania” franchise always throws emotional hooks into its child-friendly shenanigans. The first film was about Drac coming to grips with daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) falling for human Johnny (Andy Samberg), while the second centered on Drac worrying that his grandson wouldn’t have enough vampire in him.
The big issue this time? Drac is sullen because he hasn’t had a date in 100 years, and the witchy matches on his dating app just aren’t giving him the right “zing.” To boost his mood, Mavis surprises Drac with a trip. His pals Frankenstein (Kevin James), mummy Murray (Keegan-Michael Key) and invisible man Griffin (David Spade) are all about the downtime, but Drac is skeptical until he meets the ship’s captain, acrobatic and effervescent Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), and, boy, does he zing.
Unbeknownst to Drac, Ericka is the great-granddaughter of his greatest enemy, obsessive monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), and she has taken on the family mission of killing the A-list vamp.
Mavis distrusts her single father’s new match, and that leads to some of the film’s deeper messages about parental life. What really works is the undercurrent of Mavis struggling with Drac finding romance again after her mom’s death while Ericka herself questions the family business.
The movie is a Frankenstein’s monster of cobbled-together scenes: Most are so-so slapsticky sequences, but some are clever, like the action-packed opening prologue showing Drac and Van Helsing’s rivalry as a Looney Tunes spin on classic Dracula movies.
“Hotel Transylvania” already had a foothold on keeping classic monsters relevant for a new generation of movie fans. But by putting a stake in contemporary relationships, too, it broadens the appeal for moms and dads who get dragged along.