Out of Omaha

I like funny family movies, I like family travel movies, the idea of going along on a motor home vacation at some level with a nice middle class family seemed like at least it would be pleasant if not raucously funny. I did not like this movie.

I blame the writing. The basic premise, that the family spends a day trying to get on the road to CA with their motor home and continually runs into time-sucking obstacles, totally pulled the idea of a 'family traveling comedy' movie right off the table. This is a depressing movie. DEPRESSING. The husband and wife have a very cold relationship, the daughter is downright annoying, and the son, well he's there and says what few lines he has but he really doesn't have anything going in the story beyond maybe saying "I want waffles and syrup too." I think I could have learned his part in less than five minutes. Of all the characters, he's just 'there'. Maybe that makes him the least annoying.

The bunch of obstacles the face are also annoying. The daughter doesn't want to go on vacation without taking her airhead boyfriend, the boyfriend's parents are quirky in a bad way and unlikeable, the aunt and grandmother are also someone you can't wait to get away from, the aunt's dog runs in front of the motorhome (what is the dog doing in the street??) and seems to have gotten killed, the family has to take the boyfriend's mother to her parole officer for a meeting, there is NOTHING funny. On top of this, the husband and wife spend half the movie unhappy (or sad) with each other. It's all tedious and annoying and after a while you feel this movie sucking out any happiness or joy you had earlier in the day. You find yourself wishing that the family would finally overcome all these delays and just get the motor home on the damned road so the movie can end, hopefully with a shot of them happily playing on the California beach where they were headed, but we didn't even get that.

This movie could have been written in two hours by someone with a hangover being held at gunpoint. Awful. I give it two stars instead of one because, they could have made it longer and that would have been even worse.

Movie "California Dreaming" 2007 (Orig title "Out Of Omaha") 5/10 score

There is this scene where the son says he is afraid to swim in the ocean because sharks might kill him.

Dave Foley, the dad, says, "Statistically speaking, you are much more likely to get killed by your sister, than you are by a shark." LMAO

The movie is similar to "RV" 2006. California Dreaming is about an RV road trip for a vacation. They are to leave Omaha and head for Cal. They never get out of Omaha. There is even a snot nosed teenager in it! There's a fresh twist! The movie is dumb, but kinda likeable too. I just watched it, and it seems like it could have been written better. And, it certainly could have been directed waaaay better. The director, Linda Voorhees, really stinks! The mom person is Lea Thompson. She and Dave Foley make a really sweet, believable couple. // The Bushwacker 11/27/2021.

Oh, my Gosh! This has to be the most horrible film I've ever seen in my entire life, and I'm Lea's age! I cannot believe the awful acting. I don't care how dysfunctional the family is supposed to be. The entire movie made me sick. My 13 year-old girl could have written something better than this junk. Such absurdly ridiculous lines and predictable responses from the characters gave me a knot in my stomach and a severe headache. I cannot believe Lea Thompson could make such good movies in her past such as "Back To the Future," and then turn around and play an overbearing, neurotic, judgmental blabber-mouth of a mother. What is happening to her ability to recognize BAD material? If you watch this film and don't get sick, my hat's off to you! I really wanted to cry it was so BAD.

I just finished watching California Dreaming with Dave Foley and Lea Thompson. It was so bad on so many levels it's impossible to decide where to begin the review.

It's too late for me. But you can still save yourself.

Wow. I am shocked that with the considerable charm and talents of Dave Foley and Lea Thompson that someone with access to enough money to finance this could have actually put this turd to film. It is that bad. There is almost nothing even mildly amusing. The alarm bit was horrible. The stowaway boyfriend and his parents--horrible (but I did like the acting of that dude that was on Star Trek).

All in all it is simply worse than I could come up with in about five minutes, including the complete script idea, the casting of the daughter/boyfriend, and the "comedy."

Foley was so good in "Blast From The Past" and Thompson was very appealing in "Back To The Future." I can understand how folks will do such things as THIS movie when they need money. I just feel sorry for them both and I hope better days are ahead.