Will Joel Ever Learn?

Sometimes one has to wonder why certain actors make the movie they do.

Take for example Robin Williams. He's both a talented actor and comedian, so one would expect the films he does to have a higher quality to the material. Up until recently he was the star of what I considered to be the worst film EVER made by a Hollywood Studio...Being Human. But I could understand the potential appeal to him taking on a film that tried to tackle the concept of man's existance.

With RV, I have no clue and assume he was either paying the rent or on dealing with substance abuse (yes...this film does explain why he recently checked into rehab).

Just released on DVD, RV is not the worst comedy ever made (that distinction belongs to Date Movie), but it is a pretty pointless waste of time. The film reeks of starting its life as another installment in the popular Vacation series that even Chevy Chase was unwilling to touch. Williams stars as a husband/father who is trying to balance work and family life. When the two come into conflict over a potential vacation, he combines them by renting an RV for the family trip and travelling to a business meeting (without telling his family the real reasons they're doing this). Much hilarity and resentment ensues and in the end everyone realizes the error of their ways...except the viewer who may have just wasted a bit more than an hour and a half of his life.

The only saving grace this film does have is the appearance of Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenowith as a couple who live in their RV with their family (think hick versions of The Partridge Family). Whenever these two are involved in the story, the film does pick up a bit...but not enough to save the entire endeavor. I expect better from Williams and director Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family and Men in Black). Heck, I expect better from myself....

But I never learn as Scary Movie 4 is almost as bad, but at least here I didn't expect much. There was a time, which seems like long ago, when this type of comedy was not only funny, but well done. Look back at Top Secret, Airplane!, any Mel Brooks film before Robin Hood: Men In Tights and even Airplane II: The Sequel and you'll find well crafted films that are funny and have plots that work. Even the first Scary Movie had what makes this kind of film successful.

This type of film works best when a well-worn plot has been grafted to comedic situations and pop culture gags that naturally come from both the film being parodied and the time the film is being made. Maybe the adverse effects of MTV which has shortened everyone's attention spans beyond believeability has caused this type of comedy to evolve (or devolve) into little more than a string of topical jokes wrapped around some other film. Its like watching a Saturday Night Live sketch that was extended well past the expiration date. And is probably best avoided by everyone (and yet this was still funnier than Date Movie which was made by two of the six writers of this film)...at least until Scary Movie 5 arrives. It's coming...so be afraid, be very afraid.

Lastly, to end on something of a high note...Spike Lee's Inside Man is a well crafted caper film that pits cops versus robbers during a hostage stand-off at a bank. Denzel Washington & Clive Owen play opposing forces in this wonderful film that shouldn't be missed.

Be seeing you.