If there were a terrorist color scale for "dangerously funny" movies, "RV" would fall somewhere in the green. Starring Robin Williams, "RV" lacks the strong plot and non-sequitur jokes of big-timers like "National Lampoon's Vacation."
The set-up is basic and feels forced at times: Bob Munro (Williams) is a man who has grown alienated from his wife and kids. When he cancels their vacation to Hawaii for a business meeting in Colorado, he changes the destination but keeps the meeting secret.
The most annoying thing about this movie is the everybody-versus-Bob mentality. Other characters have minor squabbles, but Bob always draws criticism, even though he's the one trying to make things better.
It's easy to see where things are going: they take sharp turns and stuff falls out of the cupboards, they come really close to cliff edges, and the RV is always rolling away because of a broken parking break.
How could it possibly get funnier? Poop jokes.
RV takes toilet humor literally. When Bob has to empty the vehicle's septic system, it's painfully obvious that something catastrophic is going to happen. After putting on plastic zip-lock bags for gloves, Bob accidentally triggers a 70-foot geyser of fecal matter that showers him from head to toe.
Later, Bob needs to trick his family so he can slip off to the meeting. He goes behind a rock and makes fart-noises into his arm.
"Don't use wood," he yells while throwing out a branch, before finding some softer ferns.
No travel movie would be complete without the oddball hick family. Jeff Daniels ("Dumb & Dumber") takes command of his own RV as Travis Gornicke. He's pretty kooky with his mustache and southern accent, but his character could be a little more eccentric.
It's not surprising to hear that the film was written by Geoff Rodkey, whose past credits include "Daddy Day Care" and "The Shaggy Dog" remake. This film fits perfectly in his portfolio of ordinary children movies. Funny moments pop up here and there, but much of the humor is strained.
Half the movie consists of close-ups of Williams's reactions to the frenzied situations around him. It works at first, since Williams is such a talented performer, but there can be too much of a good thing. Director Barry Sonnenfeld selects shots that seem like they should be funny, yet they miss their mark.
Sonnenfeld has worked on such diverse films as "The Addams Family" and "Men in Black." He is also a noted producer and cinematographer. Based on these qualifications, one would take "RV" to be an automatic hit. Unfortunately, it would seem the right elements were not in place to give the film that cutting edge.
One of this movie's strengths is a reoccurring satire on the "rapification" of youth culture. Bob's son Carl (Josh Hutcherson of "Zathura") wears baggy shin-length pants, an over-sized jersey, and completes the look with a pimpin' gold chain. He listens to rap loudly on headphones, is obsessed with working out, and talks with synthetic gangsta slang.
When Carl starts fronting his skills to other middle-class white kids who have adopted street culture, it's a recipe for scufflin'.
Bob steps in at the last moment and starts talking his street lingo to the miscreants.
"Whoa, hold up home dawg G," he says, "Y'all from south town? That's the tuff hood."
He goes on like this for a few minutes too long, and the situation is diffused. For some reason, it doesn't seem right that the roustabouts back down so courteously.
Joanna Levesque serves as some good eye-candy as Cassie Munro, and she also has some funny moments.
As far as road trip movies, there's plenty others out there.
