Vacation with Derek
Vacation with Derek is a 2010 Canadian television movie based on the TV series Life with Derek. The TV movie follows the McDonald-Venturi family as the children are forced to spend part of their summer vacation with their grandmother at her lodge. It was announced on Family Channel and French-Canadian channel VRAK.TV in March 2010 that the movie would premiere on June 25, 2010 in Canada,[2] while December 12, 2010 was listed as the premiere date in the trailer for the United States, but the movie never actually aired in the U.S. when it was supposed to; the movie finally premiered in the United States on Starz Kids & Family on March 6, 2011.[3] A commercial on Nickelodeon Australia stated that it would premiere on June 19, 2010. A commercial on TG4 stated the Irish premiere would be on the channel Thursday October 28, 2010 at 5:10 p.m., part of the channel's Mid-Term Halloween movie week.
| Vacation with Derek | |
|---|---|
 Official film poster | |
| Genre | Comedy/Drama |
| Created by | Daphne Ballon[1] |
| Based on | Life with Derek by Daphne Ballon |
| Written by | Daphne Ballon |
| Directed by | Michael McGowan[1] |
| Starring | Ashley Leggat Michael Seater Jordan Todosey Ariel Waller Daniel Magder Joy Tanner John Ralston |
| Theme music composer | Gary Koftinoff |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Christina Jennings Scott Garvie Daphne Ballon |
| Cinematography | Gerald Packer |
| Editor | Kathy Weinkauf |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production companies | Shaftesbury Sales Company Shaftesbury Films Shaftesbury Vacation |
| Distributor | Family Channel Shaftesbury Sales Company |
| Release | |
| Original network | Family Channel |
| Original release | June 19, 2010 (Australia) June 25, 2010 (Canada) March 6, 2011 (U.S.) March 20, 2011 (Latin America) |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Life with Derek (2005–09) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot
Casey and Derek are back but nothing has changed, they are still at each other's throats, and still have "sibling" rivalry. The only good thing about it all is that it's summer vacation, and everyone is planning on going on a trip to Casey and Lizzie's grandmother's lakefront lodge for the summer. But their plans get a little messed up when Derek is forced into going by his dad. Things get even more messed up when Casey has to ride with Derek to the Blue Heron Lodge. On their way up there they get pulled over by the cops, meanwhile Edwin, Lizzie, Marti, Nora and George have already arrived. They soon find out that when Nora's mom said she wanted her grandchildren to visit, she meant her blood grandchildren, but agrees to let them stay, while George and Nora head for Montreal. Soon Derek and Casey get to the lodge but get stopped by Edwin who informs them about what's happened. After this, Derek says he wants to leave, Casey takes his keys, and he starts running after her. That's when Derek meets Felicia. One thing leads to another and Derek starts dating the competing lodge's daughter, then he soon realizes that it wasn't the best thing to be doing, and he breaks up with her. Meanwhile, Casey meets Jesse, a waiter at the lodge dining area, and they both love to dance and start dancing. Meanwhile, Edwin gets hurt, Lizzie meets a guy, and Marti finds a lizard. Soon one thing leads to another and they end up trying to save the lodge and they succeed. At the end they have a dance party, and it shows the ending credits then shows it a year later when the first McDonald-Venturi is born. They named him Simon, and everything is well, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Cast
- Ashley Leggat as Casey McDonald
- Michael Seater as Derek Venturi
- Jordan Todosey as Lizzie McDonald
- Daniel Magder as Edwin Venturi
- Ariel Waller as Marti Venturi
- John Ralston as George Venturi
- Joy Tanner as Nora McDonald
- Kate Trotter as Felicia
- Al Sapienza as Doug Dunbarton
- Rachel Marcus as Maddie
- A.J. Saudin as Oscar
- Nico Archambault as Jesse
- Ana Golja as Isabella
- Kristen Gutoskie as Roxy Dunbarton
- Richard Leacock as Bernard Blue
Production and filming locations
Vacation with Derek ran in production from September 14, 2009 until October 7, 2009,[4] and was shot at Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. During filming, grade 10 students from Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West High School were having their annual visit to Camp Arowhon. The marsh scenes were filmed at a bog on Hidden Lake, which is located behind the camp.
Promotion
On February 27, 2010, the trailer for Vacation with Derek premiered on the Shaftesbury website.[1]
The trailer premiered on March 15, 2010, on the Family Channel during Super Star Spring Week, and it was then announced that the movie would premiere on June 25, 2010, at 8:00pm.
A commercial on Nickelodeon Australia announced the movie premiere on June 19, 2010, at 7:00pm.
References
- "Shaftesbury - Vacation with Derek". Shaftesbury Films.
- "Family Channel kicks off summer with its first original movie, Vacation with Derek, based on the hit series Life with Derek" (Press release). Family Channel. May 17, 2010 – via CNW A PR Newswire Company.
- "Shaftesbury's "Connor Undercover" Acquired By Starz Entertainment" (Press release). Starz. February 22, 2011 – via The Futon Critic.
"Connor Undercover" and "Baxter" will premiere on the Starz Kids & Family channel on March 1, and Vacation with Derek will make its debut on the same channel on March 6.
- "Pack your bags! 'Vacation with Derek' is now in production" (Press release). Family Channel and Shaftesbury Films. September 16, 2009 – via CNW A PR Newswire Company.