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Bean - (1997)
When
Mr. Bean arrived on television in 1990 I knew it was something special - but as with all things special these days, it's success would be exploited to the full, and eventually the genius would wear thin. Still, I'm often surprised by the flak this initial cinematic adventure has received over the years. I think it's because your enjoyment of it depends on so many varying factors - being neither British nor American helps give a better perspective of the British Bean's childlike appreciation for landing in a place that's culturally so different. Also, I think being on the bandwagon from the start helps - I'd hate to be getting to know what this is while watching the film. I say all this because even as I watched it yesterday, I laughed long and hard during the entire movie. Rowan Atkinson still had full control of the character - an adult child that the series implied fell to Earth as is. A film that has given me so much joy over the years I have to rate highly, but I do so with the knowledge that many hate this movie - I know it's not perfect, but for me it has a long laundry list of hilarious moments that at times even outdo some of the initial series' biggest laughs. I don't mind that some have been recycled. Taking Mr. Bean from short skits to a full-length feature was a tall order - and really the film's length should have been closer to 65 minutes (it really ends after 65, then keeps going past the requisite climax out of feature-length necessity), but I'm willing to cut something this funny so much slack.
8/10
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Mr. Bean's Holiday - (2007)
The second
Mr. Bean film was an out-and-out disappointment - the entire format that allowed the character so many of his unusual moments was gone, and the character's attributes - his selfishness, occasional malevolence and general childish attitude were diluted. The entire film feels flat, and lacks the inspiration previous incarnations had in spades. In this he's off to France on a holiday after winning a raffle, and the laugh-free set-up and opening scenes give the audience a taste of what's to come. Occasionally, we'll see a small glimpse and situation that's better - but these moments are isolated and rare. This movie was considered an improvement over the first as far as critics were concerned, and that really surprises me. It convinces me that many people never really understood why the character was so original and funny - perhaps you really needed to have been onboard from the very beginning all those years ago. I did like his old-lady/mother disguise near the end - and wish it had of been part of a real
Mr. Bean movie, and not squeezed (along with the character) into such a conventional comedy.
4/10
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Johnny English - (2003)
Rowan Atkinson's other comedic character was less brilliantly original than Mr. Bean - spy spoofs were a dime a dozen by the time he had Johnny English up and running. The movies often stole from the Austin Powers films. Here he's stopping French prison owner Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) from enacting a scheme whereupon he ascends to England's throne and turns all of Britain into a World prison colony. A funny moment here and there -
Johnny English is at it's best when we find the titular secret agent in incredibly embarrassing situations. The character's desire to be suave wears thin after a while, and I find myself wishing he'd be more wise to his limitations - but I guess that's the whole idea of the character. Oh, and Natalie Imbruglia - we're sorry. That's our bad. I'm not a huge fan of the character or this movie, but it's okay and quite watchable.
6/10
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Dudley Do-Right - (1999)
Wow - okay. Nobody should ever watch
Dudley Do-Right. It has the feel of a film that was never even meant to be watched. Based on the Dudley Do-Right cartoons, it tries to bring a sense of "living cartoon" to all it does, but ultimately ends up just making every scene so bizarre that funny moments are really hard to find or fathom. Eric Idle and Alfred Molina shame themselves. Nothing works. There's a lot of sparkle to the $70 million production, but all of it seems terribly misplaced - and only Brendan Fraser can hold his head high. Embarrassingly not funny, with an insanely chaotic and meaningless plot, it has the feel of a fireworks factory on fire - explosively disastrous.
3/10
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