Piece Comment

Review of Family Vacation


Jesse Chanin's segment on a family vacation gone wrong is a humorous and insightful look into the mind of a teenager when confronted by a mother's request to have a talk about "mother daughter trust." Chanin's narration is witty and earnest, and the Van Morrison clips were appropriately placed to create the scenery for the disastrous vacation. Jesse guides the listener right into the action, voicing out comments that she probably did not say out loud as the events were occurring. One of the best scenes in the piece was the one about the relatives guessing why Jesse did not want to talk about "mother daughter trust." The voices used for this scene were cheesy and humorous. One of the few detractions of the piece is the Mother's voice -- it seems scripted, and the pronunciation is too slow. Overall, the piece is very earnest and insightful -- an intriguing look inside the mind of a teenager.