RV

By Christina VanGinkel

RV, rated PG13, stars such familiar faces as Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels, along with actors Cheryl Hines, Kristin Chenoweth, Joanna Levesque, Josh Hutcherson, and Will Arnett. I am a fan of both Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels, and have been for some time, and these two names on the billing prompted me to rent this movie. I first saw Robin Williams in the television sitcom from the late seventies, Mork and Mindy, portraying the alien evolved from chickens, Mork. In RV, he plays executive Bob Munro, married and father of two teens, 12 year old Carl and 15 year old Cassie. A bit on the goofy side as far as any executive I could imagine, he nonetheless fits the part for a show such as this, where a family is about to be cooped up together against the majority's judgment, in an RV, cross country. Jeff Daniels has a long list of movie credits both in front of and behind the camera. He is probably best known for his portrayal of Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber. He also acted and directed Escanaba in Da Moonlight, a romp about deer hunters in the Midwest's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, amongst a long list of other titles.

If silly and ridiculous is your style, much like the movies these same actors have starred in before, then RV is the movie for you. Otherwise, a milder mannered comedy might be a better option. The rating of PG 13 is apt, if nothing more than for the style of comedy probably not understandable by a younger crowd.

When this movie opens, we quickly discover that Bob (Robin Williams) had plans to take his family to the tropical paradise of Hawaii, but when trouble erupts at his job, he decides that making a sales meeting in Colorado to sign on a new beverage company as clients is in his, and his family's best interest. He is competing with a young and up and coming sales executive who would like nothing better than to displace Bob at the company they work for. Instead of telling his wife and kids why the big change in plans though, he instead just brings home the most gaudily decorated rental RV he could and lays out a story about wanting to spend some quality family time together. They do get to spend time together, but whether or not it is quality time is really up to the viewer to decide!

From the moment the RV rolls out of their neighborhood, it is apparent that Bob does not have a clue how to maneuver such a big rig, and proceeds to knock down anything that is in his way. The emergency brake is damaged right from the start, and this adds to their troubles.

One of my favorite moments is when each family member, except Bob, has on headphones and is blasting out their own version of what their tunes sound like. Even if Bob had really wanted to spend time with his family, this is probably not, what he expected. Also, be prepared to laugh when the family discovers that there are raccoons, a whole family of them, living in the RV's oven!

The family spends their nights at campgrounds along the way, and when they have issues with the RV's septic, they meet a man and his family (father played by Jeff Daniels) who offer advice and help. The family lives in their RV, traveling cross-country, singing, driving, and apparently in need of some bonding time with new friends.

Keeping in mind the real reason behind the trip cross country, Bob sneaks away from the ruckus of traveling with two bored teenagers and his wife, working on his laptop putting together a sales pitch, and then trying to find a signal so that he can email it to the boss. What ensues is the proverbial whatever can go wrong does.

The ending of RV is a bit on the sappy side, but if you like comedy in this style, it is a fitting ending. My husband and I both enjoyed this movie, but then again, we are both fans of this type of this style comedy. If you are not, forgo seeing it, as it is very typical of a Robin Williams, Jeff Daniels type movie.