''RV'' (also known as ''RV - Runaway Vacation'' or ''Runaway Vacation'') is a 2006

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...

, produced by Lucy Fisher and

Douglas Wick Douglas Wick is an American film producer whose work includes producing ''Gladiator (2000 film), Gladiator'', ''Stuart Little (film), Stuart Little'', and ''Memoirs of a Geisha (film), Memoirs of a Geisha''. Life and career Wick is the son of ...

, written by Geoff Rodkey and starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

, with

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), earning two Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also ...

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and the titular ch ...

, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque, and Josh Hutcherson. It follows a beverage company executive and his

dysfunctional family In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...

who rent an RV for a road trip from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers. The film was produced by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Relativity Media Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company ...

(as its first feature),

Intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...

and

Red Wagon Entertainment Douglas Wick is an American film producer whose work includes producing ''Gladiator'', '' Stuart Little'', and '' Memoirs of a Geisha''. Life and career Wick is the son of actress Mary Jane (Woods) and United States Information Agency directo ...

. It was released in the United States by

Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...

on April 28, 2006, and was negatively received by critics, but grossed $87.5 million worldwide against a $50 million budget.

Plot

Bob Munro, an executive at the large soda company Pure Vibe in

, struggles with the whims of his self-absorbed boss Todd Mallory. His family — materialistic wife Jamie and their teenage children, sharp-tongued Cassie and self-confident Carl — are also demanding, and he had promised them a vacation in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Todd seeks to acquire the Alpine Soda company in

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and threatens to fire Bob if he does not promote the takeover. Todd's demand forces the Munros to cancel their vacation. Bob, concealing the real reason for not going to Hawaii, rents an RV and tells his family that they are traveling to the Rockies; he plans to make a detour in Colorado to secretly attend the meeting in Boulder. The trip is marked by numerous mishaps. Bob's inexperience in handling the large vehicle results in him colliding with various obstacles and damaging the parking brake. During a stopover in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, he must fix an unsavory clog in the toilet tank. The family also fumigates the RV with

stink bomb A stink bomb, sometimes called a stinkpot, is a device designed to create an unpleasant smell. They range in effectiveness from being used as simple pranks to military grade malodorants or riot control chemical agents. History A stink bomb ...

s to drive out intrusive

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

s. During the trip, the Munros have several encounters with the Gornickes, a good-natured but exhausting family who live in their own RV. As they approach Colorado, the Munros reconnect as a family and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings. Nearing Boulder, Bob fakes an upset stomach and sends the rest of the family on a hike before meeting with the Alpine Soda owners. The meeting is promising, but on the way back, Bob gets stuck in a traffic jam, forcing him to take the RV through a treacherous

four-wheel-drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case provi ...

trail; at one point, the RV becomes high-centered on a boulder in the trial, which is the movie-poster's "extreme exaggeration" image depicts. With a badly battered vehicle, Bob returns to his unsuspecting family. Todd calls Bob and demands that he return the next day to repeat the presentation to the entire Alpine Soda staff. However, the RV's parking brake fails again and sends it rolling into a mountain lake. Through a careless remark by Bob, the family surmises the reason for his secrecy and reproaches him. Bob explains that he fears for his job and the Munros' standard of living. Determined, he retrieves a bicycle from the sunken RV to make his way to the meeting. The Gornickes appear and pick up the Munros. Along the way, the families bond; Bob catches up to them, reconciling with everyone. At the Alpine Soda headquarters, Bob steps in front of the workforce and pitches the takeover to them. Following an epiphany, however, he encourages their independence, aware that Todd would ruin the brand. In retaliation, Todd fires Bob. The Munros, on their way home in their sodden and battered RV, are stopped by a police officer on behalf of the Alpine Soda owners, who offer Bob a job overseeing their company's expansion. The RV's parking brake fails again, flattening the police car and the company owners' car.

Cast

Production

The film began

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

in the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

area and

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

on May 25, 2005, and finished filming the following August.

Soundtrack

The score was written by

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

and features several members of

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American country singer and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to dat ...

's band: Matt Rollings (keyboards),

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fo ...

(drums), Ray Herndon (guitar),

Viktor Krauss Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Music career Krauss was born to Fre ...

(bass) and Buck Reid (pedal steel). Alvin Chea, vocalist from

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

, provided solo vocals. Additional music was provided by Stuart Michael Thomas and

Blake Neely Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969) is an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He has been nominated for seven Emmy Awards for his work on '' Everwood'', '' The Pacific'', ''Pan Am'', '' Pamela, a Love Story'', '' Good Night Oppy'' and ...

. Several songs were featured prominently in the film, including " GTO", " Route 66", " Cherry Bomb" and " Stand by Your Man".

Release

The film was theatrically released in North America on April 28, 2006, by

, and was released on UMD,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on August 15, 2006, by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

. The film grossed $71.7 million in America and $15.8 million in other territories, for a total gross of $87.5 million, against a production budget of $50 million. In its opening weekend, it finished number one at the box office, with $16.4 million in 3,639 theaters.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval percentage of 23% based on 121 reviews, with the critics consensus reading: "An unoriginal and only occasionally funny family road-trip movie, ''RV'' is a mediocre effort that not even the charisma of Robin Williams can save." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews, meaning "Generally Unfavorable". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Justin Chang of '' Variety'' said, "''RV'' works up an ingratiating sweetness that partially compensates for its blunt predictability and meager laughs."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

, writing for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'', gave the film two stars out of four. He wrote, "There is nothing I much disliked but little to really recommend."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Barry Sonnenfeld 2006 films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s comedy road movies American adventure comedy films American comedy road movies German adventure comedy films German comedy road movies English-language German films Films about dysfunctional families Films about vacationing Films set in California Films set in Colorado Films set in Hawaii Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Nevada Films shot in Alberta Films shot in Vancouver Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Films produced by Lucy Fisher Films produced by Douglas Wick Films scored by James Newton Howard 2006 comedy films Relativity Media films Golden Raspberry Award–winning films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s German films English-language adventure comedy films