RV (2006)

Not a gem, and almost not bad either...

Robin Williams has come down to not-so-good days of late. If you remember the work he's done in "Good Will Hunting", "Bicentennial Man', "Patch Adams" and, why, even 'Mork & Mindy", you'd know what I'm talking about.

Happened to see this movie recently on a rental DVD, and was mildly disappointed. The Monroe family had so much potential in terms of the humor that Robin is known to inculcate into the plot & characters, that seeing the formulae unfold was a let-down.

Williams plays a hard-working executive, doing all he can to appease his tyrannical boss, who is threatening to replace Williams with someone from the younger generation. Williams knows that if he loses this job, he and his family will lose not just a paycheck, but, as he puts it, "a lifestyle". With so much at stake, it is only valid that he try and make ends meet, no matter what it takes.

With that in mind, he cancels the family's Hawaii vacation, promising them an even better vacation in the mountains of Colorado (so that he can attend an important meeting which coincidentally happens to be at the same place!), and en-route there, in the RV that he has rented for them all.

What ensues is a rather slapstick, formulaic story with the husband trying to be funny while making ends meet, the family always making fun of him (and often with good reason), and the friendly RV family they happen to meet on the way just adds to the fun.

There are elements I found I had seen used to much better effect in some other movies, and that's also why I was dejected with this movie.

In a single stroke - it tries to be funny, but only ends up being silly.

2 / 5 (only because of William's enthusiasm!) July 20, 2008

RV - family friendly with jr. high humor

This is a pretty good family comedy. Robin William's character is trying to bond with his adolescent children. The kids are reluctant to spend time with mom and dad and the friction is realistic and funny. The Gornicke family is a bright spot. There are a lot of laughs, but be prepared to leave reality at the door because the writers obviously did just that. I personally have no problem with predictable endings, but this one felt a little tacked on.

The casting was good and the characters worked well off each other. It could have been so much better with a little less gross-out/bathroom humor. If you're not a fan of poop jokes, you may not care for this one.
June 22, 2008

As An RVer I'm A Little Biased

I really thought this movie was hilarious.

The movie is about an executive that has to cancel his family vacation to Hawaii to make a sales presentation in Colorado. He gets the idea to make it into a road trip for the whole unwilling family... RV style. The mishaps and RV experiences are hilarious. Robins Williams was great (and I usually don't care for him much).

Its mostly about family bonding and its fun for the whole family but if you're an RVer or have even done some camping, you'll get an extra kick out of it.

June 4, 2008

If You Like Camping, You'll Hate This Movie

The Munro family used to be close. But then the kids grew up. Now father Bob (Robin Williams) is committed to his job always worried that his demanding boss will fire him for a younger, better motivated model. Teen daughter Cassie (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) wants nothing to do with her uncool father. And pre-teen son Carl (Josh Hutcherson) is going through a gangster phase. All this leaves mom Jamie (Cheryl Haines) just trying to hold everything together.

The family is looking forward to starting their summer with a vacation to Hawaii, but that changes when Bob's boss Todd (Will Arnett) demands he lead a meeting in Colorado in the middle of the trip. Instead of explain the situation to his family, he rents a motor home and bills it as a family bonding time. To say the rest of the family is reluctant is putting it mildly. To make matters worse, Bob knows nothing about the monster he's rented. Will they survive the trip to Colorado? Can Bob work without his family knowing?

Do I care? The answer, honestly, was no. I grew up camping, so the premise of the movie appealed to me. But the movie didn't deliver. Instead of reminding me of warm memories, I was annoyed by all the snipping the characters did at each other. While the ending was predictable from the first few moments, it was too abrupt for my tastes.

The film is also filled with physical comedy. I mean bathroom humor. I was constantly cringing at the things that Bob faced.

Then there's the stereotypical family the Munros meet along the way as lead by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth. I found them more obnoxious than the characters I already didn't like.

Frankly, I didn't laugh at this movie once.

And the movie is predictable. While that never bothers me if I am having a good time, I wasn't having a good time here, so every plot point was painfully slow in coming.

If you want a funny family vacation movie look anywhere but here for it. You'll come away from this one highly disappointed. June 4, 2008

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO True!

Okay, even without the possibility of losing one's job, this is EXACTLY what it is like to take the family on an RV vacation. I have seen this movie (accidentially) about ten times, and I fall on the floor laughing everytime! Yes, it is mindless entertainment, but it rings so true to the family road trip that each time I stumble upon this film I am hooked -- rolling on the floor in side splitting laughter. RV has become one of my favorite "guaranteed to make me laugh" movies. Robin Williams is always a marvel to watch, and who doesn't enjoy adorable Kristin Chenoweth and likable Jeff Daniels? I highly recommend this movie which delivers on being exactly what it promises to be: silly and funny! Enjoy. May 7, 2008

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