RV (PG, 2006)

common sense media says

Feeble retread of comic family vacation plot.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this film is premised on a tedious sitcommish conceit: A father lies to his family about the reason for their vacation. The predictable road trip hijinks include problems with the RV's septic system (sewage exploding all over Robin Williams), sulky children, RV crashes and bad roads, mud and rain, wild raccoons, hip-hop bullies, and fellow travelers ridiculed for seeming "hick." These travelers include a mother who shows lots of skin and frequent cleavage. Children behave badly toward adults, adults behave badly toward children. Language includes sexual references; violence is comprised mainly of comic antics and pratfalls.

Positive messages: Dad lies to his family regarding his work during the vacation; kids talk back to dad; tedious fart and poop jokes (especially concerning the RV's sewage).
Violence: Comic hijinks include the RV crashing, skidding, and banging into trees, stop signs, and mailboxes; Dad loses control of RV and lands on the windshield, whereupon he's slammed to the ground when it stops suddenly; girl throws a soda in a man's face.
Sex: Marie Jo wears tight outfits and shows much cleavage; frequent verbal allusions to sex (for example, "might have a shot tonight"); reference to "testicle" as a breakfast food.
Language: Immature language and gesture: daughter gives her father the finger behind his back; repeated references to the RV as a "turd," as well as "bitch," and a reference to "Jewish people" in Hawaii.
Consumerism: Visible or referenced products include Vaio laptop; Blackberry; iPods; son eats junk food frequently, including Lays chips and Ruffles.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Parents drink martinis; reference to a bong; the mom shows son she can tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue, by way of demonstrating that if he studies hard, he can go " a good party school."

More on RV

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the importance of families spending time together. How does Bob forget the need for this intimacy in his desire to provide for his family financially? How do the kids learn to "appreciate" their father when he admits his mistakes? Is all the gross-out humor necessary to make the movie entertaining?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Though Bob (Robin Williams) means well, he's so caught up in efforts to "provide" for wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines) and two kids, Cassie (Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque) and Carl (Josh Hutcherson), that he's lost track of their evolving lives and interests. Hoping to bring everyone together for a trip to Hawaii, Bob is stymied by his arrogant young boss Todd (Will Arnett), and decides to drive to Colorado in an RV instead, pretending it's another sort of vacation, though really it's a way for Bob to get to a business meeting and make a crucial presentation. No surprise, "roughing it" on the road involves a series of raucous physical gags: the septic tank explosion, the angry raccoons, the downpour, the RV's gradual demolition.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Unoriginal and unfunny, Barry Sonnenfeld's RV puts yet another dysfunctional family though the paces of yet another summer vacation. Not only does the movie abuse its characters, it condescends to its viewers, presuming a lowest-denominator sense of humor. Sonnenfeld made Men In Black and Get Shorty: You know he can do better.

Bob and his family have numerous lessons to learn, including charity, responsibility, and honesty. They misjudge and deride a yahoo-seeming family, stereotypes that only amplify Bob's self-centeredness, which really doesn't need amplifying. We get it. He'll learn to be a better dad if only he can hit rock bottom. In this case, that involves being dragged and thrown by the runaway RV, chasing the RV into a lake, and riding his specially designed bike over mountain trails to the presentation, so he arrives muddied and ragged.

Movie themes & details

Themes
Movie Details
Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: Cheryl Hines, JoJo Levesque, Robin Williams
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: April 28, 2006
DVD release: August 15, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: crude humor, innuendo and language.

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

6

Most useful reviews by all members

Candykid32
teen, 16 years old
 
LOVE IT!
i Like this movie pretty funny haha lmao it was very simple but intresting at the same time

 
Boring and Stupid
I was disappointed in this movie. It was basically pointless, and full of stupid and not funny jokes, and many are crud. Approprite for most audiences, but not a very good family comedy.

Cminasin
parent
 
why will PG/TV-PG stuff say "b*tch"
That word is only for rated PG-13/TV-14 stuff.

aidanqm1996
teen, 15 years old
 
A hilarious, yet sweet movie
Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Joanna Levesque, and Josh Hutcherson make a great cast when it comes to RV, a comedy that will make everyone laugh.

Soupmonster
kid, 10 years old
 
RV
This is a really good movie but it`s inappropiate beacuse the people in the movie use bad language. PG- For some peril and language.

Abbyrae11256
kid, 13 years old
 
LOve it perfect for teens

moviefan22
teen, 13 years old
 
A great family comedy!
I can't believe some people say this movie is for teens and up! It's perfectly fine for 9 and 10 year olds and the only sexual content is Marie Jo's clothes and some kissing. It's so funny and I watched this with my family the first time, and we all loved it! I would know if this is bad for kids, because I usually can't watch movies bad for me! Trust me, you can watch this movie as a whole family, and everyone will love it!

khwinter
parent of 6 , 9 , 12 , and 14 year old
 
nice movie for kids; again not my favorite
kids love it wasn't my favorite... not inappropriate many funny jokes... good for movie nights!

hio
teen, 14 years old
 
NOT GOOD
not a good movie at all!!!!

haddad fan
kid, 12 years old
 
really????????1 star and give it iffy for 11-13???????????really???????
well, i gave it iffy for 6 and under and on for 6 and over to see it. 5 needs parental guidance but 6 fine. well, if you really really really really put it 1 star and give it iffy for between the age 11 and 13 on PG(and not PG-13), they will use one "f--k" and some "s--t". And I like this movie. when you rate it "NO KIDS","off for 18 and under","off for 17 and under","off for 16 and under","off for 15 and under","off for 14 and under" and sometimes off for "13" and under and get it 0-5 stars on PG, they can use a lot of "f--k". There is Marie Jo wears tight outfits and shows much cleavage (WARNING: do not type this in kids sites, except CSM - it includes almost all websites and they can ban you for it.), Some Violence, one use of "f--k", some "Jacka--" and "s--t", two uses of "suck", but most profanity is used, especially "turd" and "b--tch" and zero use(s) of "d--k" some "hick" replaces to d--k, and b*tt. no consumerism that much, some dr*g abuse, (a)lot of negative messages/role models. I think this scene is questionable. Here, two uses of highlights and one uses of the educational, "the school". I think this scene is ON.

discoq101
kid, 11 years old
 
Luv it!
its hilarious, nothing wrong with it.

bdh
adult
 
funny, crude
entertaining movie but it is crude

Puppygal32
teen, 17 years old
 
Teens Only!
This is not a tween PG movie, this is a PG-13 movie that has bad language and sexual innuendo. The adult drink and teens refer to drinking. They refer breakfast food to male...! Marie jo always wheres really tight and cleavage bearing outfits which are not encoureging to teen girls!

MikaylaaMadisonn
teen, 16 years old
 
it was a very good movie! common sense is stupid!

Transformers3Fan
teen, 14 years old
 
My MPAA rating
Rated PG-13 for Innuendo and Language

dancing girl
kid, 12 years old
 
I just watched it and there was like a really funny part in there. Language isn't that bad, a guy steals Bob's laptop, good movie but not a really funny comedy movie. Pretty much not the best movie, lets say.

ScaryMovie4kid
teen, 16 years old
 
it was ok
This movie was actually better then I expected. I thought that it was in good taste and did't have any scenes with off color gross humor I would recommend this to anyone who wants just a funny family movie

 
Funny family comedy.
I thought this was a ridiculously funny movie! Laughs the whole time. Some mild language. Slapstick humor (could be a little "violent") Mild sexual innuendos between husband and wife. Poor role models in that the children are very rebellious and the husband lies to his wife. Sweet message in end about family and sticking together.

HenryRedJeanz
teen, 14 years old
 
I would give it 0 stars but I have to give it a rating so I give it 1.
Worst movie ever. Even the kids wont like it. Do not even CONSIDER renting this movie. You will feel ripped off after watching it because it is the biggest pile of dung I have ever had the misfortune to watch. So bad.

meme103
kid, 12 years old
 
great for 10 & up looking for a comedy
The dad [Robin Williams] has to take his family on an r.v. trip instead of Hawaii in order to keep his job.Mild language.One part is very,very crude.HILARIOUS!

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age