| Imagine yourself as a
rebellious young teen, already hideously embarrassed by your parents,
chilling out in your room listening to your iPod, only to see your Dad
roll up the driveway in a lime-green RV the size of Jupiter.
It's enough to make suicide a viable option. Robin Williams is that
Dad & Joanna Levesque is that teenager in this ultimately cute and
silly comedy that is very reminiscent of the 1980's National Lampoon
efforts.
Instead of the desired trip to Hawaii, Dad tells the family that he
will be piloting them across the American landscape in the big green
machine. Needless to say, they run into some crazy scenarios
that would have Clark Griswold jealous. They take wrong turns,
run over road signs, teeter the RV atop a hill, stumble across a
bizarre couple who won't leave them alone (Daniels & Chenoweth).
Heck, Robin Williams even manages to almost run himself over in his
own RV!?!?! That is hard to do.
Williams feels a little restrained in this PG family comedy.
He isn't on full-Williams-blast. However, sometimes he is more
effective when he isn't trying so hard to be hilarious.
Levesque, famous for being the youngest person ever to have a number
one hit on the Billboard charts, churns out her second good comedic
performance as one of the two kids on this family vacation. She
has nice screen presence and will definitely have the chance to star
in more films in the coming years.
The supporting cast are all very good too. I've been a fan of
Cheryl Hines since seeing her on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
She has perfect comedic timing. Jeff Daniels and Kristin
Chenoweth are also fun as the wacky couple who virtually stalk the
Munro family.
All in all, this is a fun and lighthearted family film that should
generate at least a dozen hearty chuckles from any audience. It
doesn't quite reach "National Lampoon's Vacation" status, but it is a
worthwhile trip to the theatre or a purchase on DVD. |
