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.

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.

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.

I love films about family dynamics and lost dreams, so California Dreaming (aka Out of Omaha) seemed like a winner. With engaging actors including charismatic "News Radio" alums Dave Foley, the thinking man's comedy icon, and wacky Vicki Lewis; the wonderful Patricia Richardson, winsome and lovable Lea Thompson, and the under-appreciated Ethan Phillips, how could this comedy go wrong?

Incredibly, in so many ways, it's difficult to count. The worst performance of her career, and one that almost broke my heart, was the strange and almost surreal work of Patricia Richardson. In one inappropriate moment after another, she reluctantly chews up the scenery, making me want to disgorge it myself. Tragically, she sort of spoils every scene she's in, and since she intrudes upon the action more and more as the story lurches forward, the film doesn't so much end as screech to a merciful halt.

I kept asking myself, how did these wonderful, wonderful actors get involved in such a mess of a film? The real problem is the script, which forces the cast into doing and saying the most ridiculous and unmotivated things that one can only sit, jaw agape, and wonder what in the world is going on here. Technically, the film looks and sounds quite good, though devoid of any cinematic mercy; the camera lingers on every tiny imperfection in the faces of its aging cast. Other than that, I can't bring myself to list the many offenses against craft, so let's just say avoid this (with the caveat below) and keep your good memories of these actors and wish them well on their next outing. It can only get better from here.

But the buck stops at the directors chair, and that brings up a host of issues. As a director, you have an obligation to keep your actors from making fools of themselves. I wonder if this director learned that lesson in the end. I would hate to be in her shoes right now. How will she ever get another gig? Will she even want to? Maybe there's a film there about lost dreams. (But perhaps someone else should make it.) I just hope that enough people stay away from this film long enough for its cast to resume their careers with a minimum of disruption.

I give the film a 4/10 for its "reality bites" educational value.

If you've never been to Omaha, you're doing good and if you've never watched this movie, you're doing better than me.

This movie is as exciting as Omaha - and Omaha is not exciting.

A script that is as lame as the bland, vacant, uninteresting of Nebraska.

If you live in Nebraska, I now know what your life must be like. My heart goes out to you.