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If
Atkinson pulled off any champagne comedy during the course of that
movie, it’s completely slipped my mind in the decade or so since Bean hit the screen.
Still,
Atkinson has slipped on the character’s clothes for the first time in
10 years and given his facial muscles a solid workout in the
follow-up, Mr Bean’s Holiday.
Now
maybe I’ll eventually forget all about this big-screen Bean as well,
but somehow I doubt it: this is vigorously funny stuff that expertly
showcases Atkinson’s gift for physical comedy within a framework that’s
flexible enough to give the performers room to move but sturdy enough
to offer a satisfying storyline (such as it is).
The gist of it
is, Mr Bean wins a trip to the French Riviera and experiences all
manner of misadventures as he attempts to make his way to the golden
sands at Cannes.
Along the way, he picks up a couple of
travelling companions - lost kid Max Baldry and cute ingenue Emma De
Caunes - and unintentionally wreaks a bit of havoc before crashing the
film-festival premiere of an interminable arthouse snooze-fest directed
by Willem Dafoe (hilarious as a self-enchanted, Vincent Gallo-style
wanker).
It’s featherweight stuff, of course, but director Steve
Bendelack knows just how to present Bean’s antics while maintaining a
sweet and semi-sophisticated tone (he’s also made one of the most
beautifully-shot comedies in recent years - this movie is gorgeous to
look at).
And Atkinson’s comic style, as agile and limber as a
pre-teen Russian gymnast, is a wonder to behold. Best of all, he’s
found the right way to harness it for the movies this time around.
EXTRAS
We
didn't get a chance to check out the extras on this preview disc. But
rest assured, with this flick taking over $180,000,000 before it's even
hit the US theatre's - the extras will be plentiful! Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: N/A
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