RV (2006) Review

By Jake Dee

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Robin Williams, Jeff Daniels
Released: 2006

RV, a live action cartoon of a movie, is the latest offering by Barry Sonnenfeld, the director whose given us such off the wall family fare as Men in Black and the Addam’s Family films. It stars Robin Williams as a bumbling techno-corporate type, a man realizing how adrift and out of touch he is with his wife (Cheryl Hines) and his two unappreciative children. Tired of IM-ing each other when dinner is ready, Bob Munro thinks the best way to bond with his family is by renting a fully loaded RV and hitting a cross country road trip. I hate to say it, but Williams looks like he’s sleep walking in this part, either that or he’s drunk. And given his recent bouts with the sauce, I suppose that’s not too far fetched. I don’t blame you though Robbie, if I were associated with this picture I’d probably end up in rehab as well! (The guy goes from Good Will Hunting to Flubber, Patch Addams and now this, all in a cool decade… has to be rough!)

The first half of the film is Money Pit on wheels. As soon as the family hits the road, any and everything imaginable that could go wrong with RV does. Flat tires, septic back-ups, the works (you know, for a family flick, there’s an awful lot of fecal humor, but I’ll come back to that). The break down of the vehicle mirrors the break down in the family, Bob has to constantly try and prove himself to his wife, and show his kids that he isn’t a complete and total rag. He has difficulty at first, but thru meeting a barrage of oddball characters along the trip, he slowly comes to earn the respect of his kids and a rehashed love from his wife.

Like I said before, the flick is littered (pun unintentional) with poo humor. And I don’t mean just one liners or quick sound EFX, I’m talking 10-12 minute bits of third rate comedy, at times culminating in, I swear to you, literal s***storms. At one point Bob, completely inept, has to seek help from a gang of inbred desert hicks as a way to flush out the RVs backed up septic unit. Well, they connect the hoses in the most absurd way possible for efficient drainage, resulting in Bob as a recipient of just a filthy, gag inducing diarrhea rain. S*** honestly pours down on his entire being, he just wears it like he’s seen worse days. Cut to like ten minutes later, Bob clean donning a new fit, they’re all still trying to fix the back up. Needless to say the in-breeds haven’t got a firm grasp on the problem, and suddenly a mighty s*** geyser spews high in the hair thru the roof of the RV, and unavoidably, as if magnetized, exclusive comes raining down on Bob. He hits the deck, tries to take cover, but a second wave of waste again douses his entire body, everyone else spotless.

As if taking two s*** showers in a day isn’t bad enough, Bob quickly becomes introduced to the Gornicke family; a band of RV full timers who camp from park to park. Bob and his family look down on them as trailer trash of sorts, what with their earthy, low rent styles and home schooled children named after Houston Oilers. Travis Gornicke (Jeff Daniels) and his wife Mary Jo (Kristen Chenoweth) are happy as could be southern bumpkins who love to sing play folk music. Daniels does his best Jim Varney Ernest impression, fully equipped with a Stetson and bushed Wyatt Earp ’stache. If you think he’s over the top, Chenoweth shows the zeal of an already bright eyed mother railed on a six day meth bender; either that or she thinks it’s a Disney production (which it might be).

The Munros can’t seem to shake the Gornickes either! They politely decline invitations to eat meals and sing songs, and in some borderline stalker style, the Gornickes show up every where they do, always a wide grin on their faces. But after awhile, the Travis and his family begin to grow on the Munros, especially Jamie and the kids. Bob gets lost on his own during a mountain bike trek, and when he finds his family, they’re all warm and fuzzy with the Gornickes, telling jokes around a BBQ. Seeing this moves Bob to the point of realization: I need to be a better father, a better husband. By the end of the film, Bob does just enough to win the adoration of his family, his daughter with the trite ending line; “you know dad, in your own nerdy way, you’re kinda cool.” Vomit bag, quick!

Look, I realize this is a harmless PG kiddie-tweener movie, but it feels like another one of these product placement family films assembled by dollar blind corporate-heads more concerned about box office draw and ancillary feedback than putting out a product of any substance or legitimate value. I have no doubt that JoJo, d-list pop star turned actor, has a song or two on the soundtrack, why else would she be in the picture? It’s certainly not her acting that attracts ticket sales (don’t give me the 12 year old boy rebuttal either, because I’m sure they’re locked in on Kristen Chenoweth, also a recording artist. My word, her halter top alone should have sprung the picture to a PG-13). I can’t tell you how many branded laptops, sodas, or bags of chips were blatantly centered in a majority of scenes. Shameless!

Favorite Part: Either Kristen Chenoweth’s outfit, or the when the credits rolled!

The Overall Dee-Cision: Don’t Watch It!

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