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Cheryl Hines, Josh Hutcherson, Joanna ‚JoJo‚ Levesque and Robin Williams star in Columbia Pictures‚ family-adventure comedy RV.

'RV' drives itself into the dirt

Movie review

By: Annette Andre

Posted: 5/2/06

Although Robin Williams and his family named their vacation recreational vehicle "The Big Rolling Turd," the name better describes the "RV" movie itself. Williams has made some great movies in the past, but his work in "RV" will land him a spot in the fictitious Hollywood hall of shame.

For anyone who has seen the movie "Johnson Family Vacation," this movie is quite similar - minus a few differences. It is about a wealthy family that takes a road trip in hopes of bringing the family closer together. During this trip, everything that could go wrong does go wrong.

Joanna Levesque plays the character of Cassie, the typical teenage daughter with an anti-family attitude. Though she gets embarrassed and annoyed by her family throughout the movie, it is her performance in this movie that is painfully irritating. In some parts she reveals a little sparkle of talent, while others leave one wondering how she got the part.

Then there is the little brother Carl (Josh Hutcherson.) Carl is into anything that makes him seem cooler than he is, such as rap, wearing "bling-bling" and trying to stay up with the current street slang.

He is obsessed with weight lifting to help pump up his "little man" insecurities, and surprisingly enough, he is the most convincing character in the movie.

Cheryl Hines plays Jamie, the wealthy housewife and stay-at-home mom. Her character is almost exactly the same as the one in the HBO television show "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

She loves a life of luxury and gets disappointed when her husband, played by Robin Williams, chooses to take the family on a RV trip instead of flying them to Hawaii. Her demanding attitude throughout the movie might begin to wear on one's nerves.

Williams plays the role of Bob Munro, the stereotypical workaholic father and husband who hardly knows his own kids because of time spent in the office. Although Williams tells his family that he wants to take an RV trip to spend time with them, he has ulterior motives involving his work. Of course in the end he is put in a position to choose between his boss' approval and his family's love. One can probably guess what he chooses.

Together on their journey, the Munro family experiences one disaster after another. The problem is that hardly any of these instances were funny, and the fact that they kept happening caused the movie to move along quite slowly.

Along the way, the Munros meet the Gornickies, a family that lives in their RV full time. Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenoweth play an irritatingly sweet couple that the Munros try to avoid throughout the movie.

Somehow, the two families continually cross paths until the very end when the Munros realize what wonderful people the Gornickies actually are.

This movie is very predictable, but anyone who is still into slapstick comedy may appreciate it.

Williams himself does a fine job of acting, but the storyline ruined any chances for success.

Judging by the amount of laughter heard by the audience, though, maybe I just no longer appreciate this type of comedy. People may want to wait for "RV" to come out on DVD.