It takes a movie like R.V. to make you truly appreciate the classic films that inspired it. In this case, the originator is 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation. There have been many comedies about disastrous family vacations since then, and although R.V. is far from the bottom of the genre barrel, it's too labored and desperate to generate more than the occasional chuckle. Director Barry Sonnenfeld (the Addams Family and Men in Black films) makes all the required stops and hits all the expected notes for this kind of film, and the cast is certainly game, especially lead star Robin Williams. Problem is the screenplay by Geoff Rodkey (the recent horrid remake of The Shaggy Dog) carries an uneven tone that constantly shifts back and forth from broad slapstick and over the top characters to heartfelt sentiment. The film is never able to find a steady tone, and suffers because of it.

Overworked and stressed dad Bob Munro (Robin Williams) has been watching his family grow apart as his children start to grow up. He spends so much time at work that he hardly sees his wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines) anymore, his teenage daughter Cassie (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) has reached that rebellious stage where nothing he says or does is right in her eyes anymore, and youngest son Carl (Josh Hutcherson) constantly shuts himself away from the family with hip hop music and street slang. Bob's been looking forward to a Hawaii vacation to reconnect with his family, but those dreams are shattered when his evil, germophobic boss Todd (Will Arnett from TV's Arrested Development) assigns him a business trip in the Colorado Rockies area. Not wanting to lose his precious vacation time, Bob rents an R.V., and takes the family on a last minute cross country adventure, not letting them know that he is secretly there on business. During the trip, the family will bond as they go up against vicious raccoons, nature's elements, and an overly friendly and outgoing R.V. family led by homespun couple Travis and Marie Jo Gornicke (Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth) who, despite their stereotyped Southern exterior, may hold more wisdom and knowledge for Bob and his family than they first let on.

Going for an episodic approach as the Munro family find themselves in one outlandish or crazy situation after another, R.V. has a fragmented and almost broken tone. It's almost like the filmmakers watched a bunch of past family vacation comedies, picked out their favorite bits, rewrote them a little, and then stitched them together in order to make the film's structure. Not only can you see some obvious nods to the previously mentioned Vacation, but also to the late 80s Dan Aykroyd and John Candy comedy The Great Outdoors. This wouldn't be so bad if the movie could bring some fresh ideas into the mix, but it's just far too content to fill the scenes with the same tired gags we've come to expect. Such desperate scenes include a sequence where Bob must do battle with a nest of raccoons that have set up residence inside the vehicle. He uses a stink bomb to drive the creatures out, but he didn't read the label on the package that states the bomb lasts for six hours. As the family sits outside of the vehicle, waiting for the bomb to run its course, it naturally starts to immediately rain. As I write this review, I try to picture screenwriter Geoff Rodkey writing the script, and if he didn't just go immediately for the obvious gag, or if he spent many tortured hours sitting in front of his computer, trying to think of a punchline that hadn't been done before. Somehow, the first scenario seems a lot more plausible to me. What's equally annoying is how the IQ of its main cast seems to rise and fall depending on whether it's convenient for the current scene. For most of the film, Bob seems like your pretty average dad, but then suddenly he'll go and do something incredibly stupid simply for the fact that the filmmakers believed that the movie needed a slapstick moment. These moments built around Robin Williams being suddenly thrown in life threatening comedic danger (hanging by the front windshield wiper of the R.V. as it barrels forward down a mountain road, flying down a cliff on a runaway bicycle, etc.) seem so sudden and so out of place that it's almost like we're not watching the same character we saw in the previous scene. And the less said about the scene where Williams finds himself covered in a geyser of human waste the better.

All the characters go through sudden and drastic changes whenever the screenplay deems it necessary. Although I admire that the movie tries to do a little bit more with the Travis and Marie Jo characters than the obnoxious hick stereotypes that they appear to be for most of the film, their sudden change from annoying comic foils to teachers of life lessons for Bob and his family seems to come out of the blue. We also never get a true sense as to why Bob's kids suddenly start looking up to him during the later half of the film. This is one of those movies where a potentially life-threatening plunge to death where they all fall down a raging water flow one after another like lemmings is enough to bring them together, and put all their differences behind them for the rest of the movie. The film often seems to be confused as to which tone it wants to take with its own material, as the later half constantly switches gears from broad over the top comedic action sequences to sappy sentimental schlock within moments. It can't find a common ground, and so it simply decides to pull us in both directions until we just get annoyed with the movie, and start counting the minutes until the end credits.

If it weren't for the mostly likeable cast, R.V. probably would have suffered even more. In his first truly comedic live action role (not counting the numerous animation roles he's taken the past couple years) since 2002's Death to Smoochy, Robin Williams may not be up to peak comic form, but that doesn't mean he doesn't give it his all. He gets a couple good lines here and there that sound like they were improved on the spot, as they are much wittier than any of the jokes featured in the actual screenplay. The actors playing the rest of the Munro clan get fewer chances to show their talent, but they are likeable nonetheless, especially the young child actors. Josh Hutcherson has experience in numerous recent films including Zathura and the rarely-seen Little Manhattan, but his talent is mostly wasted here in a throwaway role that seems to be beneath him. Still, he's able to bring out what humanity he can in the character. 15-year old singer-turned-actress Joanna "JoJo" Levesque is newer to the acting world, having made her debut earlier this year in Aquamarine. (A film unseen by me.) She does display a lot of talent, however, and I would like to see her in better material. Same goes for the rest of the mostly talented cast, who are resigned to mostly forgettable characters (like Will Arnett's boss character) or broad stereotypes (Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth).

The natural charm of the performers can only carry the movie so far before it starts to sink like the big bloated stone that it is. It also doesn't help that R.V. ends with an absolutely embarrassing music video played during the first half of the ending credits where the entire cast joins together to sing the song "Route 66" in various musical styles. (Rap, country, pop, etc.) The film never quite offends or becomes unbearable to watch, but you can't help but wonder why this movie even needed to be made. I know Robin Williams still has a good comedy left within him, preferably one that does not involve a scene with him covered in fecal matter. Is that too much to ask for?

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