Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3748 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-09
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, English
• Dubbed in: Spanish, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com
The long tradition of family vacation comedies continues in RV, with Robin Williams doing his best to keep things amusing. He succeeds, for the most part, by downplaying his manic persona and settling comfortably into his role as well-meaning husband and father Bob Munro. Determined to combine work and pleasure, Bob rents the titular motor home to drive his wife (Cheryl Hines), teenage daughter (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) and pre-teen son (Josh Hutcherson) on a scenic vacation in the Colorado Rockies while secretly preparing his presentation for a high-stakes corporate merger. Their dysfunctional road trip leads to repeated encounters with the all-too-happy Gornicke family (led by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth), who only appear to be stupid rednecks, when in fact they represent the familial togetherness that Bob is striving to regain. As directed by comedy veteran Barry Sonnenfeld (whose image as "Irv" the RV rental king is plastered across the side of the Munro's RV), these warm-and-fuzzy sentiments are strictly by-the-numbers, along with plenty of jokes about raw sewage, scavenging raccoons, and RVs run amuck. There aren't any real highlights, and the outcome is utterly predictable, but RV delivers enough comedy to qualify as an enjoyable diversion. Those who remember Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Vincente Minnell's 1954 hit The Long, Long Trailer may find RV similarly entertaining. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

A genuine family-friendly comedy that's actually funny
If you want a good, safe comedy the whole family can enjoy, RV fits the bill. Sure, it doesn't exactly break any new ground, but the reason they keep making family vacation comedies like this is because they tend to be pretty entertaining - especially when a Robin Williams is featured in the cast. There's more to this film than mere comedy, of course, as it has a lot to say about family. The plot synopsis describes this family as dysfunctional - this could not be more wrong. This is a completely normal family that almost everyone can identify with. Bob Munro (Robin Williams) works hard to support his family, worries that he's going to lose his job to some stuck-up kid fresh of college, his wife has to deal with the pressures of getting the kids everywhere they need to go while also taking care of everything on the home front, and the kids are distant and always complaining (i.e., they're teenagers). If this is dysfunctional, then America is overflowing with dysfunctional families.

When his boss pulls the rug out from under Bob's upcoming business trip (with family) to Hawaii and replaces it with a scheduled presentation in Colorado, Bob tries to make up for the disappointment by renting an RV and spending some quality time with his family on the way to the Centennial State. He knows he is running out of time if he's ever going to reconnect with his kids, Cassie (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) and Carl (Josh Hutcherson). No one is excited at the prospect, and the trip gets off to a bumpy start, but the Munro family soon rolls its way into many a comical situation. Naturally, you have a whole sequence built around emptying the RV's sewage tank and the obligatory face-off against nature (raccoons, in this case), but you also have the family's encounter(s) with the Gornicke family. Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth put on a great show as seeming bumpkins who just keep popping up, despite the Munros' efforts to avoid them. They're good people, though, even though they do come across as a little bit too happy - and they enjoy a kind of closeness with one another that Bob dreams of rediscovering with his own wife and kids.

Juggling the rigors of the whole RV experience while surreptitiously trying to get a presentation written is a challenge, and then Bob still has to figure out a way to get to his meeting without his family knowing about it. It's just the kind of thing to bring everyone together in the end, though - or maybe not. Either way, it makes for quite a memorable family outing.

There is a lot of physical comedy in the film, which Robin Williams pulls off with his trademark ease. I think Williams is funniest when he gets into one of his manic, fast-talking states of random weirdness, but his character is pretty restrained in this regard. That disappointed me a little, but that's just a matter of me asking this film for something it wasn't designed to give me. It's still a very funny movie with great performances all around, and - as I mentioned earlier - it's a lot more family-friendly than most comedies being produced these days. That makes it a real winner, in my book.

Cringing attempt at an old formulae
A quite appalling film with more cliches than Eastenders. Usual plot - the "average" family (living in a huge house with all the luxuries) go on an adventurous holiday in their hired R.V, continuing to end up with problems one after the other. How original...

The teen-daughter is once more a spoilt brat who is typically good looking and, of course, a vegetarian. The son continues to make bad jokes, lift weights and pretend he is something of a Don; despite not experiencing his gones drop yet. The wife is obvious enough (blonde and always right), while Robin Williams is the only person that manages to hold things together, being the man of the house. Or R.V for that matter.

I'm not normally super-critical of films, but this is a rare case when I almost suffered spasms from cringing my toes. 2 Stars for the fact its not as bad as Kevin Costners 'Waterworld'.

RV = Re Vamp
Yeah this film is quite narrow in terms of story line.
Based on a family going on an RV trip to help bring the family more together. The film tries to make the best of a bad situation.
This film is more aimed at the light hearted who just wanna watch sumat and not get anything from it. Its just a story with a happy ending at the end. Quite boring to be honest, sorry for those who like it.

P.S Rolling Turd!!! - Prob the only funny bit