Directed by Steve Bendelack. Stars Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes. Opens Friday at theaters throughout New Jersey.
For a silly kids movie about an accident-prone man on a trip to the beach, "Mr. Bean's Holiday" is actually quite mean-spirited and pretentious.
There are laughs for kids as the title character (Rowan Atkinson) has a variety of misadventures in transit from Britain to southern France, but the picture also has an off-putting insider vibe, setting its closing scene at the Cannes Film Festival.
The hero crashes the event and plays pranks on an arthouse director (Willem Dafoe) who's premiering a ponderous movie to yawns from the crowd. The film within a film seems to be a parody of Vincent Gallo's "The Brown Bunny," a misunderstood road movie that was booed when it screened at Cannes four years ago. The reference is pretty obscure given the preschool demographic.
The film pokes unfair fun at Gallo's work when it has its own questionable segments. During one particularly long, misguided set piece, the protagonist wanders onto a World War II film set where a faux French village is being attacked by German soldiers. Mr. Bean is put into costume as an extra and performs a mock goosestep march. It's always nice to see children's movies with Nazi jokes.
A belated follow-up to 1997's "Bean," the film contains distasteful scenes that make you feel guilty for laughing at the amusing ones. Highlights include a roadside outhouse mishap, a crisis involving a coffee-splashed laptop and an adventurous lunch of cold shellfish at a snooty restaurant. Yes, those are the highights.
Director Steve Bendelack, who has a lengthy résumé of Britcom credits, stages unfortunate incidents on French trains and highways. Occasionally, Mr. Bean is the victim of circumstance. Most of the time, however, he drags innocent bystanders down into his world of disorder. At one point, he unwittingly prompts a suicidal man to jump to his death from a bridge. Good times.
The journey begins when Bean wins a Cannes vacation and a digital camcorder in a raffle. En route, he loses everything, tickets, luggage and travel documents, but finds a few new friends. He teams up with a mischievous Russian boy (Max Baldry) separated from his father (Karel Roden), who's heading to Cannes to serve on the judging panel. Bean also inexplicably charms a beautiful actress (Emma de Caunes) on the road to the film fest for the premiere of her latest picture, "Playback Time" from an American auteur named Carson Clay (Dafoe).
Along the way, the hero captures his vacation on a camcorder and winds up accidentally creating a hit movie at the festival. Although "Mr. Bean's Holiday" takes a few swipes at Euro snobs, ultimately the most ridiculous character is the arrogant American. It's no surprise the comedy is already an international hit.
For a silly kids movie about an accident-prone man on a trip to the beach, "Mr. Bean's Holiday" is actually quite mean-spirited and pretentious.
There are laughs for kids as the title character (Rowan Atkinson) has a variety of misadventures in transit from Britain to southern France, but the picture also has an off-putting insider vibe, setting its closing scene at the Cannes Film Festival.
The hero crashes the event and plays pranks on an arthouse director (Willem Dafoe) who's premiering a ponderous movie to yawns from the crowd. The film within a film seems to be a parody of Vincent Gallo's "The Brown Bunny," a misunderstood road movie that was booed when it screened at Cannes four years ago. The reference is pretty obscure given the preschool demographic.
The film pokes unfair fun at Gallo's work when it has its own questionable segments. During one particularly long, misguided set piece, the protagonist wanders onto a World War II film set where a faux French village is being attacked by German soldiers. Mr. Bean is put into costume as an extra and performs a mock goosestep march. It's always nice to see children's movies with Nazi jokes.
A belated follow-up to 1997's "Bean," the film contains distasteful scenes that make you feel guilty for laughing at the amusing ones. Highlights include a roadside outhouse mishap, a crisis involving a coffee-splashed laptop and an adventurous lunch of cold shellfish at a snooty restaurant. Yes, those are the highights.
Director Steve Bendelack, who has a lengthy résumé of Britcom credits, stages unfortunate incidents on French trains and highways. Occasionally, Mr. Bean is the victim of circumstance. Most of the time, however, he drags innocent bystanders down into his world of disorder. At one point, he unwittingly prompts a suicidal man to jump to his death from a bridge. Good times.
The journey begins when Bean wins a Cannes vacation and a digital camcorder in a raffle. En route, he loses everything, tickets, luggage and travel documents, but finds a few new friends. He teams up with a mischievous Russian boy (Max Baldry) separated from his father (Karel Roden), who's heading to Cannes to serve on the judging panel. Bean also inexplicably charms a beautiful actress (Emma de Caunes) on the road to the film fest for the premiere of her latest picture, "Playback Time" from an American auteur named Carson Clay (Dafoe).
Along the way, the hero captures his vacation on a camcorder and winds up accidentally creating a hit movie at the festival. Although "Mr. Bean's Holiday" takes a few swipes at Euro snobs, ultimately the most ridiculous character is the arrogant American. It's no surprise the comedy is already an international hit.
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