Bob Munro (Robin Williams) has been planning to take his wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines) and his two children Cassie (JoJo) and Carl (Josh Hutcherson) to Hawaii. But at the very last minute his boss Todd Mallory, (Will Arnett) calls him up and tells him that the biggest sales pitch of his career is going to happen in a few days. Bob gets the idea that if he rents an RV, he can take his family across country to Colorado on vacation and also attend this business meeting. Funny and bizarre moments ensue
Going into "RV" I didn't know what to think about it but when I walked out of it just about an hour or so ago I must admit I liked it quite a bit. "RV" is a family road trip comedy, a genre made famous by "National Lampoon's Vacation." While no one will come out of this film feeling that they saw an original comedic masterpiece. I think if you look at it for what it is, a silly family comedy, you will be able to enjoy it. Personally, I found the film to be very amusing, more so than most others in the theater. There is just something about Robin Williams' comedic facial expressions that make me chuckle.
The whole idea of this rich upper class family traveling in an RV is just amusing. You can't picture this class of people taking a road trip which is why this film is funny. The film features some really strong laughs including the scene where Bob tries to drive the RV over the mountain. I won't deny for a second, that there isn't much thinking involved when watching this film because that is clearly out of the question. But honestly some of the stuff that happened in this film is extremely amusing and I think in this case, it's amusing because it was over the top. Unlike most comedies when they try to drag out a joke, it doesn't work but in "RV" the longer the joke goes, the funnier it gets in my opinion.
I also like how this film at times left it up to the audience's imagination. There are a couple of scenes that would have been really stupid and wouldn't work if they actually showed what was happening. The whole raccoon scene is a perfect example of this. I also like that although the humor was very low brow, it wasn't over done. What I mean by that was the jokes are funny but they are somewhat spaced out. Not like with "Scary Movie 4" where you have a new joke every other minute.
It's nice seeing Robin Williams come back and do comedy. I personally think he is one of those actors who can do both comedy and drama. He played the father figure very well here and like I said his facial expressions are always amusing. Also his little rap that he did in this film was hilarious. Robin is truly a talented actor. As for the rest of the cast, they were all fine was well. JoJo, who I actually never seen in a film before, was decent as the rebellious daughter and Josh Hutcherson was good as the rap loving son. Cheryl Hines who played Robin Williams wife Jamie was also good. Also a very amusing appearance by Jeff Daniels was also a lot of fun; he really knows how to play those redneck characters.
Barry Sonnefeld was the director of "RV" and I am not sure what to think of him. While some of his films are good, some of them are not. It's hit or miss with his films. I personally like the fact that a lot of his films including "RV" have the dark comedic touch to them, I pick up on these things and I seem to be one of the few people laughing when this happens but hey I find dark humor to be amusing. Mr. Sonnefeld does a good job in the directing chair here and he really creates all these weird and awkward obstacles that the Munro family has to overcome. Also the way he never allows the film to become overly sappy with family moments is also a nice touch.
So in the end, "RV" is a fun time. It's not a masterpiece by any means but just a funny little comedy that most members of the family can enjoy. Robin Williams steals the show the entire film and I feel without him involved this movie would have been really bad. When you see this movie, just take it for what it is, a silly family road comedy. If you take it for what it is, you shouldn't be disappointed. This movie is just like the trailer and TV spots lead you to believe so if you like the television spots or trailer, see this movie. "RV" is a movie where you should be able to have a few hard laughs and be able to smile the entire time.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "RV" is a 7/10.
Going into "RV" I didn't know what to think about it but when I walked out of it just about an hour or so ago I must admit I liked it quite a bit. "RV" is a family road trip comedy, a genre made famous by "National Lampoon's Vacation." While no one will come out of this film feeling that they saw an original comedic masterpiece. I think if you look at it for what it is, a silly family comedy, you will be able to enjoy it. Personally, I found the film to be very amusing, more so than most others in the theater. There is just something about Robin Williams' comedic facial expressions that make me chuckle.
The whole idea of this rich upper class family traveling in an RV is just amusing. You can't picture this class of people taking a road trip which is why this film is funny. The film features some really strong laughs including the scene where Bob tries to drive the RV over the mountain. I won't deny for a second, that there isn't much thinking involved when watching this film because that is clearly out of the question. But honestly some of the stuff that happened in this film is extremely amusing and I think in this case, it's amusing because it was over the top. Unlike most comedies when they try to drag out a joke, it doesn't work but in "RV" the longer the joke goes, the funnier it gets in my opinion.
I also like how this film at times left it up to the audience's imagination. There are a couple of scenes that would have been really stupid and wouldn't work if they actually showed what was happening. The whole raccoon scene is a perfect example of this. I also like that although the humor was very low brow, it wasn't over done. What I mean by that was the jokes are funny but they are somewhat spaced out. Not like with "Scary Movie 4" where you have a new joke every other minute.
It's nice seeing Robin Williams come back and do comedy. I personally think he is one of those actors who can do both comedy and drama. He played the father figure very well here and like I said his facial expressions are always amusing. Also his little rap that he did in this film was hilarious. Robin is truly a talented actor. As for the rest of the cast, they were all fine was well. JoJo, who I actually never seen in a film before, was decent as the rebellious daughter and Josh Hutcherson was good as the rap loving son. Cheryl Hines who played Robin Williams wife Jamie was also good. Also a very amusing appearance by Jeff Daniels was also a lot of fun; he really knows how to play those redneck characters.
Barry Sonnefeld was the director of "RV" and I am not sure what to think of him. While some of his films are good, some of them are not. It's hit or miss with his films. I personally like the fact that a lot of his films including "RV" have the dark comedic touch to them, I pick up on these things and I seem to be one of the few people laughing when this happens but hey I find dark humor to be amusing. Mr. Sonnefeld does a good job in the directing chair here and he really creates all these weird and awkward obstacles that the Munro family has to overcome. Also the way he never allows the film to become overly sappy with family moments is also a nice touch.
So in the end, "RV" is a fun time. It's not a masterpiece by any means but just a funny little comedy that most members of the family can enjoy. Robin Williams steals the show the entire film and I feel without him involved this movie would have been really bad. When you see this movie, just take it for what it is, a silly family road comedy. If you take it for what it is, you shouldn't be disappointed. This movie is just like the trailer and TV spots lead you to believe so if you like the television spots or trailer, see this movie. "RV" is a movie where you should be able to have a few hard laughs and be able to smile the entire time.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "RV" is a 7/10.