Road trip film like you've never seen before

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 2006)

Running gags that work, self-involved characters that work with each other, and a near-perfect blend of drama and comedy. All of these things make for a movie-going experience like no other. Say what you will about these characters: the parents are too lenient, the grandfather too raunchy, the kids left to their own devices are not developing as kids should. This is what American families are, folks. If this does not sound like your family, go to any diner in America and look for the first family unit you see. Sit close to them and listen to their conversation. Guaranteed you will hear something like the conversation the screen family has at the diner. People's concerns lie in strange places, and this film is doing nothing if not drawing them out and forcing us to look at them. Dysfunctional for a purpose.
True, if you look at it from a certain perpsective, the characters can be seen strictly as caricatures. However, even with this treatment, the filmmakers are not trying to disguise this fact like most films made in our country about Americans. We are all like Olive in some way, naive but somehow strong. We are like the uncle, sad but solid in his beliefs. We are like the father, struggling to hold onto the American dream, discovering the dream will turn out the way you imagine. Like the mother, not considering what can happen when we think we are doing the right thing by allowing others to make mistakes. Like the son, determined to do what he wants at any cost. Like grandpa, throwing all cares to the wind and just letting things come as they will. We know, see and have been these people. This is what it is to live in this country. Don't knock it until you admit you've tried it. Most importantly, through the whole journey, you will come to a conclusion about what you have seen before you that makes all this somehow okay, and in the end, the true American spirit shines through.
And you really will laugh so hard it will hurt!