Common Sense Media Review
Feeble retread of comic family vacation plot.
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Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 12 parent reviews
Parents say this film is a fun, family-oriented comedy that effectively combines slapstick humor with a heartwarming message about family values, though some feel it relies too heavily on crude jokes and stereotypes. While many kids and parents enjoyed the laughs and entertaining scenes, concerns about inappropriate content and character portrayals linger among some viewers.
- family values
- slapstick humor
- mixed content
- entertaining scenes
- mild language
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 34 kid reviews
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?
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
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?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 28, 2006
- On DVD or streaming : August 15, 2006
- Cast : Cheryl Hines , JoJo Levesque , Robin Williams
- Director : Barry Sonnenfeld
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Columbia Tristar
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Adventures
- Run time : 98 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : crude humor, innuendo and language.
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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