Review - RV (2006)

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and with the summer starting to wind down, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at the 2006 Barry Sonnenfeld road.comedy RV, which stars Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Chenoweth, Will Arnett, Richard Ian Cox, Josh Hutcherson, and Joanna "Jojo" Levesque. 

       So, the movie focuses on Bob Munro, a workaholic living in Los Angeles with his wife, Jamie, and their two kids, Cassie and Carl. Bob and his family enjoy a luxurious lifestyle thanks to Bob's job as a marketing executive at a top-shelf soda company called Pure Vibe. Unfortunately, at a party at the home Bob's boss, Todd Mallory, Cassie and her school friend Gretchen confront Todd about putting Pure Vibe soda machines in public schools, and throwing disgusting green slime in Todd's face. 

         The next day, Todd reveals that he was initially planning to fire Bob over the incident, but an opportunity came up that can save Bob's job. A merger between Pure Vibe and the Colorado based Alpine Soda company fell through, and Bob has a chance to make a presentation to brothers Garry and Larry Moiphine as to why a merger between Alpine Soda and Pure Vibe would be beneficial. But, unfortunately, the meeting is in Colorado at a time when Bob and his family are going on a trip to Hawaii. Not wanting to cancel a family vacation, but still wanting to make it to the meeting, Bob gets an idea. Granted, a stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless. Bob decides to rent an RV, and take the family on a road trip to Mount Watson in Colorado, to a lake up in the Rockies. 

         The trip is pretty insane, and the RV itself has a slew of issues. For instance, the parking brakes go out, and Bob has to use blocks on the wheels whenever they park. Also, whomever last rented the RV never cleared out the sewage. Eew. Also, Bob and his family meet the Gornicke family, which consists of Travis, his wife Mary Jo, and their kids Earl, Moon, and Billy. Unfortunately, the Gornickes are a bit too forthcoming, which is somewhat off-putting to the Munros. 

         Throughout the trip, Bob is struggling to send the proposal regarding the Alpine merger to Todd, but is having signal issues, and also misplaced his laptop, which gets snatched by a hitchhiker with a guitar. Said hitchhiker ends up hitching a ride with the Gornickes, who give him the boot when they spot the laptop, and they try to catch up with the Munros to return it. Luckily, the Munros reach their destination, and Bob has to sneak away to get to the merger meeting at Alpine Soda. Unfortunately, as much as Todd liked Bob's proposal, he decided to have the new kid at Pure Vibe, Laird, make the presentation instead. Unfortunately, Laird bombs hard, and Bob takes over, and wins over the Moiphine brothers. However, Bob has to rush back to his family, in easily the most memorable scene of the movie, where the RV gets stuck on a mountain peak, and Bob has to use his weight to tip it forward, and ends up hanging onto the windshield wiper blades as the RV goes barreling through the woods back to the campground. 

         Now back with Jamie and the kids, Bob takes his family to the lake he promised to take them to, and they have a great time taking in the view. Unfortunately, the RV rolls into the lake, and Bob tries to stop it. And, it's here where the truth gets out, and Bob reveals that the purpose of the RV trip was for the Alpine Soda merger meeting. Yeah, I'm not keen on the whole "liar revealed" plot device in general, but the aftermath of Jamie, Cassie , and Carl learning the truth is hilarious, as Bob walks into the lake, and rides out of the water in his bicycle, and heads through the woods to get to the meeting. Jamie, Cassie, and Carl, meanwhile, are hoofing it, and are picked up by the Gornickes. And, we learn that the Gornicke kids, despite being home educated, are actually so intelligent that two of them jumped a grade or two, and the eldest Gornicke sibling, Earl, is working on college prep, kinda like Cassie is. 

         Bob sees his family with the Gornickes, and rides down hill and chases after them, eventually climbing on top of the bus, and brings the bus to a stop. Jamie and Bob have it out, but they seem to work things out, and Travis reveals where they are: Alpine Soda. Travis got directions, as he felt that it was where the Munros needed to be. Bob admits his behavior was unacceptable, and Travis reveals his that he understands metaphors, as he attended college at Stanford. Nice. Anyway, Todd arrives and collects Bob for the presentation. 

        With everyone gathered, Bob has an epiphany, which was based on his adventures on the RV trip with his family, and he compliments Garry and Larry for having a fantastic product at Alpine Soda, and knowing what Todd would do to such a great product, advises that agreeing to a merger between Alpine Soda and Pure Vibe would be a big mistake. Todd attempts to fire Bob, but Bob quits instead. Some days later, the Munros are back in the RV, which was fished out of the lake, and consider being on the road full time like the Gornickes do. However, a highway patrolman pulls the Munros over, and Bob talks to the highway patrolman in typical Robin Williams fashion, and eventually getting what's left of the rental agreement, and identifies himself. And, it's here where the highway patrolman gets on his radio and say "Got him." 

       Outside of the RV, the Munros are surprised to see Garry and Larry Moiphine, who had been trying to catch up with Bob. The brothers reveal that they want to take Alpine Soda national, with Bob working with them to do this. However, before we get the exact details on Bob's new job, Cassie points out that the RV is rolling away, and we see the RV pancake both the highway patrolman's car and the Moiphines' car, with Bob looking on with the slightest of smiles. The movie ends with the Munros and Gornickes performing a rendition of the classic road song "Route 66." 

      On paper, RV shouldn't work. The style of humor is pretty pedestrian for a road comedy, except when there's gross out humor like with Bob and Carl trying to clean the sewage out of the RV. Hell, the name the Munros give the RV: the "Big Rolling Turd." Jeez, this movie is both too pedestrian and too immature. But, what really makes it come together is the cast. Specifically, Robin Williams. Don't get me wrong, seeing the rest of the cast, such as Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Chenoweth, Will Arnett, and such were great, and they all fit their roles very well. But, it's really Robin Williams and his hilarious improv skills that elevate the movie from being a forgettable road comedy for families to a mildly entertaining one. Overall, not one of the best from director Barry Sonnenfeld, but not completely terrible, either. I'm giving RV a rating of 3/5. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.