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"RV" is yet another bargain bucket family comedy that is disappointingly mediocre. The performances are desperately average, the story and especially the jokes are incredibly predictable and the direction is well below par. Kids might enjoy the slapstick but if your age or IQ is into double ... Read review
Robin Williams is on top form as an overworked husband and father trying to keep it all ... more
together in RV, an outrageous family-adventure comedy that everyone can relate to. After promising to take the family on holiday in Hawaii, Bob abruptly changes pla...
8 Wheels. 1 family. No brakes. An overworked Bob Munro his wife Jaime their 15-year-old ... more
daughter Cassie and 12-year-old son Carl are in desperate need of some quality time together. After promising to take them on a family vacation in Hawaii Bob ab...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Advantages: Jeff Daniels and Krisitin Chenoweth bring oodles of energy to their roles Disadvantages: It's lacklustre in all depertments
Workaholic Bob Munro yearns for the days when his family was the centre of his life and he of theirs. But his wife's too busy to spend time with him, his daughter's a snotty teenager and his son's developing a bad attitude. So Bob thinks a family holiday will sort it all out. But at the last minute he's chosen to do a big presentation for his company across the country and has to put his trip to Hawaii on hold. But instead of telling his family, ... ...a road trip. Big mistake…
There was a time when director Barry Sonnenfeld could be relied upon to produce genuinely funny films to entertain the whole family; look at "The Addams Family" and "Men in Black". But the times they are a-changing and not for the better, I might add. I though "Men in Black 2" was bad enough, but it's nothing compared to this pile of toilet-humour infused dross. Not only does ... more
Workaholic Bob Munro yearns for the days when his family was the centre of his life and he of theirs. But his wife's too busy to spend time with him, his daughter's a snotty teenager and his son's developing a bad attitude. So Bob thinks a family holiday will sort it all out. But at the last minute he's chosen to do a big presentation for his company across the country and has to put his trip to Hawaii on hold. But instead of telling his family, he rents a mobile home and tells them they're taking a road trip. Big mistake…
There was a time when director Barry Sonnenfeld could be relied upon to produce genuinely funny films to entertain the whole family; look at "The Addams Family" and "Men in Black". But the times they are a-changing and not for the better, I might add. I though "Men in Black 2" was bad enough, but it's nothing compared to this pile of toilet-humour infused dross. Not only does Sonnenfeld rely on the lowest form of film humour (the sight gag) far too much but he also allows every single joke to drag on interminably. It's a case of sloppy editing - shaving off a second or two here and there would make all the difference. You would have thought with Robin Williams on board, he would have just wound him up and let him go, but no, he'd rather do pooh gags, slapstick and deeply unfunny running jokes. There's also a small matter of Williams stunt double being about twice his size. So you never really believe he's in danger and this pulls the rug out from under the ouch factor. You can see absolutely everything coming a mile off and the predictability undermines what few gags there are. It also makes the family bonding side of the film incredibly saccharine as daddy and the kids get closer. It's telling that Sonnenfeld hasn't even paid enough attention to the most basic of effects, making it abundantly clear that the cast are in a studio somewhere, in front of a green screen, when they should be bouncing through the wilderness somewhere. This is essentially a star vehicle for Williams, but one where the hand-brake is never let off. So you feel like you're bumping along in first gear throughout the entire hour and forty minutes. Then as the credits roll, you're "treated" to the ultimate horror; a cast sing-along of "Route 66".
The screenplay by Geoff Rodkey is straight out of the scripting-by-numbers book. So we start with the happy families' set-up before flashing forward a few years to show how it's all gone downhill. The characterisation is a series of Hollywood family movie stereotypes; the overworked father, the harried wife, the politically aware stroppy teen daughter and the wannabe rude boy son who's bullied at school. This doesn't make them at all sympathetic because you know their character development arcs before they do. Nor does their upper-middle-class background, which means they want for nothing and carry a sense of entitlement with them. So their attitude towards the Gornickes is one of bigoted scorn. The interaction between them is trite; with family squabbles giving way to a deep appreciation of each others strengths and all-round loveliness. However, everything has to be mediated by Bob so we don't really see them come together as a family. We don't see enough of the other family members for them to develop any real personalities, hence my total ambivalence towards them. And we all know the Gornicke family exist merely to make the Munros unite against a common enemy. They are traditional movie hicks; gingham-wearing, home-schooled, yodelling bumpkins, who in an entirely unsurprising twist turn out not be quite as stupid as they appear. There's absolutely no question that there will be a happy ending and that everybody will get what they deserve.
As soon as the mobile home is christened "The Giant Rolling Turd" by the Munro kids, you know the comic level has been set. It is reflected throughout all the dialogue and gags and you get the impression Williams is just prostituting himself to the highly unoriginal script. All he'd need would be a few ad-libbed one-liners and the quality would go up. But instead everyone sticks steadfastly to the cliché-riddled dialogue. The pacing is monotonous, with one family bonding moment for every two sight gags, making the watcher feel as if they're stuck in a hellish family comedy vicious circle.
Robin Williams essentially reprises his family-friendly schtick from Mrs Doubtfire as Bob Munro. He's well-meaning, but has become distanced from his family and will do anything to get his family life back on track. The problem is that Sonnenfeld keeps him reined-in, never allowing him to go off on real flights of improvised fancy. So he's quietly amusing, but never reaches the fever pitch that characterises his best performances. He doesn't spend enough time with his on-screen family so he never feels like a real dad. As a result his sly asides feel as though they're born of bitterness rather than frustration. I suppose he's hamstrung to a certain extent by the PG certificate, but I'd hoped for more from the fuzzy funnyman.
Cheryl Hines, who plays Williams' wife Jamie is the kind of toothy TV sitcom mother we see too much of. She's a modern woman juggling home and work, trying to raise her kids with strong values and keep her marriage alive. She's a total cliché and Hines doesn't do anything to flesh her out. She's so bland it's hard to remember anything about her once the credits have rolled. Pop tart Joanna 'JoJo" Levesque plays yet another snotty teen movie princess. She's okay at huffing around the set, sneering disdainfully at everything, but it's nothing dozens of other young actresses couldn't do. The same can be said of Josh Hutcherson as wannabe hard-man Carl. He's passable as a boy with attitude, but it's hardly a stretch.
Both Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth put more energy into the heads of the Gornicke family than the parts deserve. They are the kind of larger-than-life comedy characters that chafe your nerves as soon as they appear on screen. So it's easy to see why the Munro family would want to avoid them. But it doesn't give the actors much to do because the script portrays them as such paper-thin stereotypes. Daniels may be using the role to prove he can still do comedy, but in the absence of some solid character development and decent dialogue, he's fighting a losing battle. And poor Kristin Chenoweth is left with little to do other than jiggle her ample charms.
James Newton Howard's score is a weak accompaniment to an already lacklustre film, using bluesy harmonica and guitar motifs here, choral flourishes there and the odd dash of light jazz or country and western guitar. The addition of such tracks as "Stand by Your Man" and the aforementioned cast version of "Route 66" do nothing other than grate on one's nerves.
The stunt work throughout is impressive, if marred somewhat by the dissimilarity of Williams double to the actor. There are plenty of painful looking pratfalls, some big stunts feature the runaway mobile home and a fight with a raccoon, all performed with alacrity.
"RV" is yet another bargain bucket family comedy that is disappointingly mediocre. The performances are desperately average, the story and especially the jokes are incredibly predictable and the direction is well below par. Kids might enjoy the slapstick but if your age or IQ is into double figures, you'll be hard-pressed to enjoy it.
Advantages: Funny ,has Robin Williams in it-can watch it with the kids -though I'd have watched it on my own Disadvantages: dry kind of humour(which I like) BUT-some people don't get it
Having just read three other reviews on ciao for this movie I feel as they are all pretty negative and this is one of my sons and my favourite family movies I will try to put across why this movie is actually worth watching and not just once maybe even two or three times.
I was browsing in the supermarket when I thought I'd pick up a movie to watch over the weekend with my son who was 7 at the time of buying it.
Luckily my son and I have very similar ... ...star wars and indiana jones movies! Not saying they are bad movies ,because they are great movies, but to watch them day in and day out over and over.... !!! Anyway back to this film 'RV'
I spotted the movie and seeing it was on the bargain shelf at around £3.00 and seeing that it had Robin Williams (who i'm a fan of) I read the back of the DVD quickly and decided .. HEY ..! Why not ?? so into the basket it went .
So the weekend arrives pop corn ...
bobbetta 02.06.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of RV (DVD)
Advantages: None at all, its awful from start to finish Disadvantages: Not funny in the slightest
...arise. He hires an RV and is given no instruction as to its various functions and has not been asked if he has ever driven anything like it? That I find unlikely! Their trip to his business meeting is of course plagued with problems, all of which they fully deserve. Everything that happens to this family, they deserve. The whole fact that they learnt a lesson is supposed to be a resolution at the end of the film. Even the way they treat the other ... ...Robin Williams is supposed to be the main comedy name carrying this film but none of the situations he is put in are very funny at all. The seatbelt gag is stupid. There are tribes in the amazon who have never seen cars that would have worked out a seatbelt faster. The fact they insult us by trying the same gag twice? He deserves to lose his laptop and is an idiot. He clearly should have said no to his boss when he asked him to do this report and ...
atytyut2434 27.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of RV (DVD)
Advantages: Easy going comedy Disadvantages: Not what you'd expect from Robin Williams
...go out and rent an Rv and drag his family across america to be near the presentation.
As you'd expect nothing goes smoothly from being covered in human waste to being attacked by a raccoon, in the RV everything that could go wrong does.
They meet another family who live in their RV and are very amusing, especially when they seem to latch on to them and appear everywhere they do. With all the singing and stupidity you think their a bit simple until ... ...trying to achieve and more.
This certainly isn't one of the best Robin Williams films but it is mildly amusing in parts and some of the scenes are memorable, even if it is for the wrong reasons.
Not sure i'd reccommend this but it is an alright film to just see for the sake of seeing it. ...
donna_haden 27.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of RV (DVD)
Advantages: Ashton Kutcher Disadvantages: Not enough big names
106
Watch my kid
Jessica Biel from 7th heaven agrees to watch a fans kid while he goes to his car, this boy then acts like a 20yr old and when his father comes back he threatens to charge her.
RV park
One of the best on the DVD collection is when Jessica Simpsons long lost family turn up at the house and want to live there. Nick was set up by Jessica on this one and he doesn't really handle it well.
No keys for you
Two people are not treated very well when they go to pick up their cars from the valets.....ok but nothing special and one of the girls deserves to be treated badly with her attitude.
Episode 107
Metal detector part 2
Wee man and Jack Osbourne get problems from the MTV security.
Pinching Pink
Pink comes home and find her boyfriend being taken away by the police for stealing motorbikes, he has told ...
Advantages: packed full with bonus features Disadvantages: not as much episodes as other seasons
only manages to buy a second hand RV...and then takes the family on a holiday- which turns out to be a nightmare- as they come to an abrupt stop at the end of a gorge
This DVD compilation also includes a great deal of bonus features...
[8.] The Telltale head
- Bart accidentally destroys the statue of Jebediah Springfield, and the whole town are after him.... will his story be enough to let him off the hook?
[9] Life on the fast lane
Its Marge's Birthday, and homer is unselfish and buys her a bowling ball... with homer on it.
Determined to show him his unselfishness, Marge goes bowling, and meets French charmer, Jacques, who is a little too interested in Marge. It is not long before it becoms gossip that Marge is spending time with another man... is the Simpsons marrage over?
[10.] Homer's Night out
Homer is going to ...
Beaten-down middle manager Bob Monro rents an RV and goes on holiday with his frustrated wife Jamie, rapper-wannabe son Carl, and angsty daughter Cassie. However, white-collar Bob's ineptness at handling the monstrous vehicle causes plenty of amusing chaos. Obsessive RV-ers Travis and Mary Jo come to their rescue.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
09/10/2006
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
CDR 40863
Barcode
5035822086333
Languages
Main Language
English
Dubbed Language
Spanish, Italian
Subtitle Language
Spanish, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Blooper reel, Alternative scenes, Telestrator commentary, Five featurettes, Musical performances, Storyboard comparison
Aspect Ratio
2.40 Wide Screen, 1.78 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Stereo
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Italian, Stereo Italian Spanish
DVD Description
A family film for the Instant Messenger age, RV takes a humorous look at a mostly functional suburban family's attempt to get away from it all on a rare vacation. Robin Williams plays Bob Munro, a beaten-down middle manager who feels alienated from the family he works so hard to keep comfortable. Upon his insistence, the Munro family rents an RV and goes on holdiat. With his frustrated wife Jamie (the always stellar Cheryl Hines of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM), rapper-wannabe son Carl (Josh Hutcherson), and angsty daughter Cassie (Joanna Levesque, best known as a pop singer), the Munro family set off on their holiday. However, white-collar Bob's ineptness at handling the monstrous vehicle causes plenty of amusing chaos. Thank God for the kindness of strangers--in this case, a couple of endearing oddballs played by Jeff Daniels (who proved his comedic chops in the DUMB AND DUMBER films) and Kristin Chenoweth. As Travis and Mary Jo, two obsessive RV-ers with a penchant for barbecues, beer, and yodelling, they serve as the Middle-American heart and soul of the film, much smarter and savvier than cultural stereotypes write them off as being. Seasoned comedy director Barry Sonnenfield (MEN IN BLACK, WILD, WILD WEST) proves that he has mastered the intelligent comedy, and Williams, particularly in moments that are improvised, proves his brilliance once again. But it is the uniformly excellent supporting cast, in particular a stunning turn by Will Arnett (Gob on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), that makes RV so memorable.