Rated PG for crude humor, innuendo and language.
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Men in Black films, Get Shorty…)
Starring Robin Williams, Jeff Daniels…
RV is National Lampoons Vacation in the 21st Century.
I guess that sums it up, both good and bad. “Bad” because some people just aren’t a fan of the Chaplinesque antics from guys like Chevy Chase or Robin Williams. “Good” because some people remember Vacation as a comedy classic.
Vacation came to us in 1983 starring Chevy Chase, directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes. That’s a pretty good combo. In the same spirit, RV stars Robin Williams, is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and written by a semi-newbie Geoff Rodkey (The Shaggy Dog and Daddy Day Care).
The story is about Bob Munro (Williams) and his dysfunctional family as they rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers.
This film isn’t going to win any awards… but it had me laughing pretty hard from beginning to end.
I admit, I suspected that this might be one of those films where we see the only funny scenes in the preview. Not even close. The film was well written, cleverly directed, and the gags worked.
Although John Hughes was not involved in this project, it has the feeling of many of his films from the previous decade: the Home Alones, the Beethovens, the Vacations, The Great Outdoors, Planes Trains and Automobiles… But jump to the 21st century with IPODS, mobile devices, the hip hop generation… and Robin Williams as the father of all of this! The results are hilarious.
One of my favorite scenes is when the son (played by Zathura and Little Manhattan’s Josh Hutcherson) notices a girl from another RV family, innocently falling for her. In his own little hip hop world we hear a hip hop beat playing every time he looks at her, a true glimpse from his world. A subtle moment, but brilliantly executed from a director who knows what he’s doing.
But I have to confess: I’m biased when it comes to this film. My dad owned a 35 foot RV—a big diesel pusher with a couple slide outs, much like the one in this film. I’ve been to parks like the one in the film, I’ve emptied the waste tank, I’ve tried to figure out all the electrical hookups, and I’VE MET ALL THOSE PEOPLE!!! RVers are going to love this film because they’ve been there and most of them have forgotten to pull in the canopy before taking off! (Once… it only takes once!)
I also like the film because, even though the lead family is dysfunctional, they’re a family. The Dad loves his wife and his kids (without the cheating tendencies that Chevy Chase brought to the Vacation films) and the family sticks together. Even the weird family they meet (that almost pokes fun at the “Christian” home school family) is shown to be quirky at first, but solid and content.
But most of all, RV will make you laugh throughout. I’m only giving this film the score of “rental”… because it’s hard to classify it as anything greater. But I’ll probably be adding the film to my DVD collection.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
You’ll have to use your discernment with this one. It was cleaner than the Vacation films, but it still maximizes the PG rating with plenty of poop jokes, mild language and about four over the top innuendos/jokes that will sail over the heads of most kids and many conservatives (i.e. When the RV is dumped in a lake he says that it was “rode hard and put away wet”… the dad said that his butt cheeks clench every time he hears a banjo). It refrains from sex and nudity, never venturing where Vacation did, but still has a few cleavage shots and a couple hints about sex between the dad and mom… but hey… it’s between a married couple. Overall the theme of the film was very positive and pro-family.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
