Camping-car

I really needed this. The day before I saw this movie I saw one movie that was terrible and one that was good but depressing. That's what happens when you're cheap and you just watch what's on, even if you use a DVR to see it later. And with this movie, a DVR or other recording device is essential. You want to see everything happen. Or maybe you don't. I don't recommend eating while you watch this.

Robin Williams doesn't do his best work here, but if all you want is to see this master play a normal father with the ability for the slapstick and stand-up styles of comedy, you couldn't do much better. His presentation in Boulder is brief but amazing. There's a second presentation that is also quite good but not ideal for a business professional; it's more suited to, say, a corny movie that teaches a moral lesson. And he does the normal father scenes quite well.

JoJo Levesque is ideal as a spoiled teenager who learns what is important in life and can even show a mature side. She starts out (what-EVER) as quite a contrast to the adorable Erika-Shaye Gair we saw a few minutes earlier. And she can SING! You have to stay around for the closing credits. Not everyone in this cast has singing talent, but she does.

Cheryl Hines is quite likable and amazingly tolerant. And she looks good here. I think the difference is she doesn't smile much. She doesn't have much to smile about. But when she does, it's not that gigantic smile.

Kristin Chenoweth makes the most of her role as the matriarch of the annoying Gornicke family that keeps showing up to make our heroes miserable. You have to like her, unless you're the Munros. She looks great and isn't ashamed to show off her ... chest. She has a magnificent singing voice and even shows her operatic talent in performing something corny.

Jeff Daniels is likable and actually intelligent. For his role, I would have expected someone more like Organ Stew Guy. He was introduced at a time when poor Bob needed someone with brains to clean up the literal mess made by the bumbling Howie and Joe Joe. But for the annoying rednecks, I didn't think intelligence would be required. I was wrong, and he plays a great character.

I've mentioned music several times. There's a lot of good music here. Most of it is instrumental country music, but I don't need words to enjoy it. When there are words, they are mostly the silly words that you would expect kids to hate. Hines doesn't mind being silly and embarrassing her kids, who have their own "music" (it doesn't qualify).

Colorado has magnificent scenery. I can't say enough about it. North Carolina's mountains are beautiful, but I don't think we have anything to compare to this. And yet the credits mention Canada. So this is actually Canada? Wherever it is, it's enough to drive home the lesson this family has needed to learn. Who needs Hawaii? Utah's not bad either. Great rock formations. For some reason, no trees grow until you reach the border.

And we do learn some important lessons here. We have the evil boss who doesn't seem to care about family and probably wouldn't appreciate nature either. And Laird, the young upstart who might replace Bob who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Brilliant, but no people skills. So once it becomes clear people like this aren't the ones you should consider important in life, our heroes find out what really makes life worth living.

Is it appropriate for the whole family? Of course. If your family likes potty humor. I can see some strict parents not wanting their kids anywhere near this. But it's a fun adventure if you can handle it.