[Sidebar] November 6 - 13, 1997
[Movie Reviews]
| by movie | by theater | hot links | reviews |

Bean

[Mr. Bean] British TV comic Rowan Atkinson's Carrey-esque contortions are probably responsible for this big-screen update of his Mr. Bean show. But Atkinson's reactive brand of bug-eyed and near-silent comedy has always been more akin to Jacques Tati -- plus a lecherous pinch of Jerry Lewis, the better to invade the viewer's personal space. Essentially a string of gut-busting visual vignettes for Atkinson's titular man-child -- Bean shaving his tongue and forehead with an electric razor, Bean humping a men's-room hand dryer after wetting his pants, Bean wearing a half-stuffed turkey on his head -- the film pulls what little plot it has from Lewis's trademark mistaken-patsy formula. A distinguished group of Royal National Gallery board members nominate the violently inept Mr. Bean to accompany a $50 million painting to LA, mainly to get him out of their hair.

Hence, Mr. Bean does America: making himself at home with a highly forgiving LA curator (Peter MacNichol) and his dysfunctional family; wreaking havoc at an amusement park; and straining to restore the pricy painting that he literally defaces. Unfortunately, director Mel Smith (Radioland Murders) disregards the Englishman's culture shock in favor of universal bodily-function gags and male bonding. But as in the series, the film's deliberately slow pace contrasts with the comic's antics to make them even funnier. And if Bean's tacked-on final third plays like a separate episode (imagine Bean as a hands-on surgeon!), this is still a side-splitting showcase for Atkinson's abrasive gift. Opens Friday at the Harbour Mall, Showcase, Starcase, Tri-Boro, Westerly, and Woonsocket cinemas.

-- Rob Nelson

[Movies Footer]
| home page | what's new | search | about the phoenix | feedback |
Copyright © 1997 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. All rights reserved.