So much average

Pretty Good

A Masterpiece!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Robin Williams is as usual funny. Nothing new. Nothing special. The rest is not funny at all. And generally the humor is quite low. Unless you think an explosion followed by a high pressure pump shower is funny and in that case, this might be the movie just for you.The script is also nothing special. Stock characters that move as expected. A bad boss who is, well, bad, but no explanation for his stupidity or the stupidity of his underlings. Or short: I hope you can fast forward when you get to see this.

Sometimes, comedies turn out to be real tragedies but, on other occasions, they can even exceed our expectations. "RV" was definitely better than I expected, although it wasn't a masterpiece. In fact, it wasn't made to be a masterpiece, just to have fun and provide good laughs. And that, let's face it, the film does perfectly.The script is simple: a rich but workaholic dad, who spends little time with his family, will be forced for professional reasons on a road trip to Colorado. So, he decides to hide from the family the true purpose of the trip, in order to respond to their criticism about the lack of family time. But the idea strongly displeases everyone, because the initial plan was a luxurious trip to Hawaii, not a caravan trip to Nowhere. From here, anything can happen... In fact, the simple idea of a rich family making a hard road trip that could do, with all the luxury, by other means, is rather funny. Jokes are great and most of them were made with class and the script is effective enough to base everything else in a solid way. The most palpable problem here is that the overwhelming majority of jokes are too predictable.About the cast, Robin Williams stands out clearly and dominates the film like a giant. He was a master of comedy and, sometimes, his expressiveness (not just his body or face, but especially his voice) was enough to make us laugh. "Jojo" Lavesque is clearly not an actress, nor does she want to be, but she seems willing to take chances in the movies when they arise. Her work wasn't brilliant, but she's able to fulfil what's necessary. Josh Hutcherson, on the other hand, seemed to me more promising, doing a good performance just like Cheryl Hines. Kristin Chenoweth and Jeff Daniels were excellent. In fact, this pair of actors was so capable of shining that it made a good counterpoint to Williams' inspired performance.Despite being far from excellent, "RV" is a very enjoyable film and will certainly be a success if it's chosen for a family afternoon, on a rainy day, where it is best to stay at home, for example.

While "RV" won't join "Good Morning Vietnam", "Dead Poets Society", "Aladdin" or "Mrs Doubtfire" as Robin William's greatest films, it's still worth a look on a lazy/rainy day.Robin Williams plays a father of two ("Curb Your Enthusiam"s Cheryl Hines plays his wife) who - due to pressures at work (Will Arnett plays a fantastic a**hole boss) - changes the family trip from Hawaii to Colorado to make an important presentation. He hires an RV and hijinks ensue as they meet a seemingly hick family in an RV park (played by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth).There's a lot of silly slapstick stunts in this movie (like Robin being covered in the RV's sewage), though a scene where Robin saves his son from a group of wannaba wigga basketballer teens shows his improv skills.If you're in the mood for an inoffensive, family-friendly, slapstick heavy ninety minutes, then you could do worse than watch "RV".

So ordinary. I suppose that Robin would hate to hear me say that. But I'm sorry, what those of us who loved Robin Williams' comedy actually loved was his imagination. And there is little of that here. Robin didn't write it, didn't direct it, didn't produce it. Which is probably why pretty much any comic actor could have made the same film. And it would have been funny. And it is funny...but it is not Robin Williams funny.The premise is pretty predictable. Middle aged father realizes his teen-aged children are drifting away from him, So, he gets the bright idea to rent a huge RV and travel to Colorado...instead of going to Hawaii for vacation...because in an RV, there will be togetherness, where in Hawaii the kids would have been off finding their own things to do. Good plan, but of course, everything goes wrong.The predictability factor comes in here. All the things that go wrong are mostly uninspired. But funny. Toilet sewage backs up. They are evicted from the RV by raccoons. They keep running into another RV-ing family they don't want to associated with. And on and on. In the meantime, there's some corporate intrigue which is tearing Williams away from his family.Robin Williams does fine as an ordinary comedic actor. Jeff Daniels is entertaining as the other RV-er. Cheryl Hines is refreshing as Williams' wife. Kristin Chenoweth is good as Daniels' wife. Joanna "JoJo" Levesque does okay as Williams' daughter, Josh Hutcherson is better as the son. Everybody does their job, mostly rather well.So, how good a movie you think this is will depend on what you are looking for. If you're looking for a fun comedy family movie, this very good, with good laughs, and a good moral point. If you're looking for Robin Williams at his zany creative best, you'll need to look elsewhere, and probably back several years before this film, before Robin seemed to feel he had to make movie after movie after movie and was far more selective.