Dispatch from last night’s all-media

Dispatch from last night’s all-media screening of Barry Sonnenfeld and Robin Williams‘ RV (Warner Bros., 4.28): “RV is no Benchwarmers, I can tell you that! What’s shocking to me is that there have been about 12 pictures that haven’t been advance-screened for the press this year. Silent Hill, I think, was the 12th. And so this is the trend so far…they’re not screening lots of films for the obvious reason…and they turn around and screen RV? What were they thinking? The critics are going to hate it. This film is not funny. The people in the cheap seats — people they brought in on the hope they would probably laugh more than the critics — were laughing here and there, but nobody was laughing in the critics’ section There were long periods where there were no laughs anywhere…no laughs at all. There’s one good riff in the entire movie when Robin’s son is being taunted and he makes fun of ‘hood rap with the taunters. Poor Robin Williams has inherited Chevy Chase’s career, and it’s like the poor guy is in a straightjacket. It’s definitely a family picture, and that poster image of the RV teetering on the mountaintop…they actually have that scene. And there’s one with vicious racoons invading the RV. And one with a septic tank that explodes and lands all over Williams and he’s covered in shit. Look back on the last 15 years and I think Sonnenfeld’s peak was Get Shorty, and after that the Men in Black films. On the credits there’s a guy whose title was “consultant to Barry Sonnenfeld.” What was his consulting about? Telling Sonnenfeld that this crap is funny?”

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