“RV” (Sony Pictures)
The Spirit of Chevy Chase Rides Again
“RV” has been criticized as being a rip-off of the “National Lampoon Summer Vacation” movies. And it does seem at times Robin Williams is channeling Chevy Chase. But in those films Chase played a man who was intelligent but didn’t have a lot of common sense. Williams plays a man who does have some common sense and so does his family. When they go traveling in an RV it is to get to a specific point for a specific purpose. These are minor distinctions but distinctions just the same. What they do have in common is they are both funny movies.
Bob Munroe (Williams) is a man who has lost touch with his family. He, his wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines), his daughter Cassie (Jo Jo Levesque) and son Carl (Josh Hutcherson) all stay busy, busy, busy. So it seems that a vacation in Hawaii is going to be the perfect family getaway. Those plans are scrapped when Bob’s boss Todd (Will Arnett) schedules him for a business briefing in Colorado.
Bob doesn’t tell his family he has to go to a business meeting, rather he just cancels the Hawaii plans and rents a huge RV in which they will travel to Colorado for a vacation. The family is not enthused. Their happiness is further watered down when they meet up with a traveling family of pests known as the Gornickes. Mom and Pop Gornicke (Kristen Chenoweth and Jeff Daniels) are determined to become the Munroes’ new best friends. The Munroes are just as determined to flee and never see these people again.
In the end lessons are learned, families are reunited, and business goals are rearranged. It all plays out just like it did in the Chevy Chase opuses, with the same heartwarming humor and enjoyment.
Williams is at his best in roles like this one. He can be wildly comedic or touchingly sentimental. Hines is a good foil for him as she too can be sweet or sweetly silly. When she is singing along with the music as they travel she is hilarious. Both Jo Jo Levesque and Hutcherson are great as the kids. They are aggravating without being annoying, and they come around to being supportive soon enough.
The secret weapon in the movie is the Chenoweth/Daniels duo. From Chenoweth’s yodeling to Daniels’ headlocks, this is a couple to die for. They brighten up the scene every time they appear, and that is not often enough.
The movie is rated PG for mild profanity.
“RV” is good family entertainment. Williams hasn’t made a heartwarming movie like this since “Mrs. Doubtfire” or one as funny. Take the kids and have a great time with a family vacation you could do without, but one that is loads of fun to watch.
I scored “RV” a mobile 7 out of 10.
