Bean

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, John Mills, Pamela Reed, Harris Yulin, Burt Reynolds, Larry Drake, Danny Goldring, Johnny Galecki, Chris Ellis, Peter Capaldi, Sandra Oh
Directed by: Mel Smith
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) travels to America and must bring a priceless painting to the public.

Review:

Tim: I've never watched the original "Mr. Bean" television series, but I somehow was familiar with Rowan Atkinson's character, through cultural osmosis, I suppose. It was interesting to sit down and watch his first movie. A lot of what you think about this movie will depend on how you find Atkinson's humor. I thought the film was decent- it had a number of humorous aspects peppered throughout the film. It might not put anything up that approaches comedy greatness, but you can do far worse than this film.

The movie really lives and dies by Atkinson. He has managed to create a fairly fascinating character in Mr. Bean. He's a buffoon, a moron, one of the unluckiest human beings I've ever seen. It's incredible that in any situation, he'll find the worst possible path forward. That's the genius of what Atkinson created. You watch scene after scene where Bean makes the worst decisions and then has to live with the consequences (which usually leads to another bad decision). Atkinson plays Bean with this childishness, though. The naivety is critical because otherwise, Bean would be a hateful human being. That never happens here. Sure, he does get on your nerves after a while, but for the most part, he's an endearing character. You want for him to not get in bigger and bigger messes, you hope he finds some path to salvation. That comes directly from Atkinson never losing the audience. You might not always love Mr. Bean, but you're certainly rooting for him.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is how routinely Bean gets into chaotic, terrible situations. It is truly fascinating to watch this man bumble through and mess up any and all situations. If he's cooking a turkey, of course it'll somehow end up on his head (one of the more outlandish gags). If his pants get wet, he's obviously going to shove his crotch below a hand dryer and make the wrong kind of movements. If there's a priceless painting, you better believe he's going to ruin it. The utter destruction he causes in the most innocent of ways is astounding. It's interesting to watch how everyone around him must deal with the fallout of his antics. Peter MacNicol's character gets the most of it. I don't know what happened to him, because I really enjoy him as an actor. He was well cast here and it was fun to see his life falling to pieces around him because of Bean. MacNicol worked well opposite Atkinson- their partnership was a plus for this film.

The supporting cast was decent. MacNicol is definitely the standout, but it was good to see Pamela Reed here. Burt Reynolds was solid in his supporting scene and it was fun seeing an early-career performance of Sandra Oh's. That's also true of Johnny Galecki and Peter Capaldi. As a whole, I didn't have issues with the cast.

Bean has a number of things going for it, you have to finally acknowledge how stupid the whole thing is. Some of the situations Bean gets himself into are believable and realistic- those are incredible. Your eyes go a little wide and you think, "Geez, that could happen to me!" That's when the movie is at its best. However, there's too many moments that are forced and too over-the-top. No one, not even the idiotic Mr. Bean, could find themselves in that kind of predicament. That wears on you the longer the movie goes on. This is definitely a character best suited to shorter television episodes. The credulity is stretched too far in this film, to the point where it ultimately is too difficult to believe. For that reason, I wouldn't say this was a good movie. It's a bit exhausting to watch scene after scene of moronic destruction. Still, Bean is a decent comedy, this isn't a failure by any stretch.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Mr. Bean's Holiday