RV

So my boy and I decided to go see RV. We thought it'd be a nice summer movie. Actually he wanted to see The Wild, but I love Robin Williams and convinced him it would be better. We liked it, it was pretty funny. It's what I thought it would be...a light, fluffy comedy. Robin Williams is Bob Munro who has to cancel the family's vacation to Hawaii to save his job. He convinces the family that the RV vacation will be better, neglecting to tell them it's so that he can get to a big meeting, by stating that it will help the family bond. Cheryl Hines is his wife, Jamie. They have a teenage daughter, Cassie and a tween son, Carl. Bob longs for the days when Cassie loved her daddy and wanted to spend time with him. Now that she's a teenager, she still loves him, but disguises it behind the typical "Dad, you're such a dork" teenage hostility. Bob complains that the family never spends any time together and wants to have a big family vacation to connect with the family, but the trouble is he also has to work on a presentation on the sly.


Joanna 'JoJo' Lesveque was miscast as the daughter. Some of her lines were meant to be funny, but her comedic lines were met with awkward silence in the theater we were in. Josh Hutcherson has delivered in his other feature films (Kicking and Screaming, Zathura), but he wasn't given enough to work with. Both of the children didn't feel developed enough as characters.

Of course the trip is marred with obstacles, hijinks and misadventures a la National Lampoon's Vacation. The RV has trouble with the parking brake, sewer back up problems and a big gawdy "RENT ME" sign on the side. The Munros meet up with the Gornicke family. Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenoweth did a great job as the annoyingly friendly, sunny, slightly off-kilter Gornicke family that the Munros spend most of their road trip ducking.


The film didn't disappoint, but I didn't expect a masterpiece going in and I did only pay 3 bucks. It was funny, and Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenoweth were all great. It isn't dethroning National Lampoon's Vacation as best family road trip movie, however. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to spend a few hours on a rainy summer afternoon.

RV
6.5/10
See it because....you are in the mood for a light, fluffy comedy, you like Robin Williams
Best line....Bob: Whenever a big, white man picks up a banjo, my cheeks tighten.
Cheesiest line...basically any time Bob tried to be cool with his rapster-wanna be son (Yo yo, dawg).

More ramblings to come.....