California Dreaming (2007)

"...a reasonably good family comedy...The cast here is excellent...They have the chemistry to work very well together...  Home Theater Info

Editor's Note A family is beset with numerous problems as they travel to California from their suburban home in Omaha in this comedy feature. The mishaps happen at a fast and furious pace as soon as the bumbling family members board their RV, creating some highly amusing moments in the vein of the NATIONAL LAMPOON movies.

	Dave Foley
	Ethan Phillips
	Lea Thompson
	Patricia Richardson
	Adam Balazs - Original Music By
	Annamaria Szanto - Editor
	Dana Altman - Producer
	James Bartle - Cinematographer
	Linda Voorhees - Director
	Linda Voorhees - Writer
	Neva Cozine - Art Director
	Wilton Schiller - Executive Producer

Home Theater Info 5 of 10
This film is based on the stereotypical family seen in innumerable movie comedies. The parents seem to have little in common. The daughter thinks her parents are idiots but actually only displays her own lack of even the slightest glimmer of common sense. While there are some laughs to be had here overall the flick fails to work on most levels. It appears that it is one of the scripts that come across funnier on paper. When put on the screen it loses something in the translation. The actors give it a good try but even the most talented actors cannot rise above every obstacle. Any film based on the dynamics of family is touchy. You need enough realism to allow the family members in the audience to identify with the characters. At the same time you have to expand the circumstances and responses to comic proportions. This film goes over the line in both respects. The family members are painted too broadly to seem real. The faults of each person are overly exaggerated but don't come off as humorous. The situations they face are ridiculous to the point of implausibility. Some comedies can get away with it but not in this context. There also has to be some degree of internal consistency in how the characters react. This too is missing here.