Just finished watching, so my memory is still sharp :-)
Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)
Directed By: Steve Bendelack
Written By: Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis
Starring Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean)
Supporting Cast: Max Baldry (Stepan), Emma De Caunes (Sabine)
What’s it Rated?: G (Although there are some suggestive actions, and some swearing in Russian, with written subtitles)
Genre: Family, Comedy
Synopsis: After winning an all expenses paid trip to southern France, the Idiotic Mr. Bean walks into problem after problem starting with a train ticket on a chicken’s foot and winding all the way to Italy and an all too inquisitive guard, with hilarious results
My Take: I’ve been a fan of Mr. Bean TV shows longer than almost everyone I know and I’ve gone through thick and thin with the good ol’ stupid scenarios and great facial expressions that make Bean so funny… but this was a tad of a disappointment.
While not being near as bad as the previous Mr. Bean film (as far as language and almost everything else you could mention) Mr. Bean’s Holiday is more silly and lazy than the TV show, which was characterized for funny situations and British humor, not slapstick and stupidity. The shows did have some slapstick in them, but it was not what defined them.
Mr. Bean isn’t necessarily known for great stories, but this one was a real stinker. It has that feel of having sat on a shelf for ages just waiting for a director gullible enough to attach his name to it, and Steve Bandelack was the one to fall for such a schmaltzy plot. It’s such a predictable outcome and resolution that the small comedic off-shoots were the only thing that kept me watching, and if you’ve never seen any Mr. Bean before, they aren’t much at all.
There are funny parts that are truly funny, and it’s not crude humor, which I must applaud the director for. It’s so satisfying to watch something funny and not have to be embarrassed by foul or suggestive language.
Overall, I sort of enjoyed Mr. Bean’s Holiday, It was a pretty good one-time see, But I’d only recommend it to someone who is a lifetime fan of Bean and can sit through the silly parts.
Story: 5 out of 10
Humor: (Kudos for almost no crude humor) 7 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10
4 comments:
Good review, Graydon.
Our family has never really had any Mr. Bean exposure, but we thought this would be a good one to start out on as it was rated 'G' compared to 'Bean' being rated 'PG-13'. Boy were we wrong.
Probably the biggest mistake that the director made in this film was assuming that all of the viewers were Mr. Bean fans already. He spent little to no time introducing and enduring the 'good guy' to us. In fact, he never really established Mr. Bean as the good guy. In the first 10-15 minutes of the film, Mr. Bean never really does anything that would put him in that category, so by the time he starts dumping oysters into lady's purses we're just officially weirded out. My little brother Nathan summed it all up pretty nicely when, about half way through the film, he turned around and said, "I don't like him!"
Had a couple smiles along the way, (OK I admit, the music in the marketplace scene was funny), but all in all the directionless plot made it feel as though they were just throwing the funny scenes in there to string us along.
1 1/2 stars out of 5 for Mr. B's H.
Yeah, It's a good thing you didn't see "Bean", it's NOT worth watching.
I am so disappointed in your review. I LOVE Mr. Bean's Holiday! However, I understand one must have a certain kind of humor to appreciate it! :) Anyway, have you seen Casablanca? That would be another good film to review for movie review Monday.
Yes, that is true. Keep in mind I gave it a lower rating because, as Sam said, there isn't much character development and he doesn't do much to warrant him being the "good guy".
It's a disappointment for old time Bean Fans, and confusing to those who are new to Mr. Bean.
As for Casablanca, I'm not sure I can get to it by next week, but I might be able to. I'll see what I can do.
Thanks for the comment, Sarah!
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