Barry Sonnenfeld's (Men in Black) latest flick revisits the National Lampoon's Vacation formula, with Robin Williams as Bob Munro, a harried executive forced to cancel a family vacation to Hawaii when the boss orders him to a conference in Colorado. In order to conceal the reason behind the sudden schedule change from his wife, pouty teen daughter, and punk-obsessed adolescent son, Munro rents an ugly RV and announces his intention to drive them all to a Colorado lake for a real family outing instead. Naturally, they all hate the idea, but (of course) this is one of those movies in which an orgy of wild slapstick and potty humor is topped off with heart-to-heart talks, life-changing revelations, and a big comeuppance for that nasty boss. Boasting uniformly unsympathetic characters and terribly choreographed sight gags, RV would have been more accurately titled with the kids' choice of moniker for the recreational vehicle: (The Big Rolling Turd). Not recommended. (F. Swietek)
RV
Sony, 99 min., PG, DVD: $28.99, Aug. 15 Volume 21, Issue 5
RV
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