Osmosis Jones

Review by By Clint Morris

In nearly all their movies, madcap director brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly (There's Something About Mary, Me Myself and Irene) revel in exposing the awkward bodily functions of humans.

You've got the bottom-end explosion, nose wastage, projectile vomiting - and now, interestingly enough, they are responsible for this new movie, an inside look (literally) into the human being.

So, if you've ever wondered who pushes the button inside to cause that bad gas, who battles the bad bacteria in your mouth or which interior nuisance causes ugly nose output, Osmosis Jones is the movie for you.

Osmosis Jones is a half-animated/half-live action comedy ride that takes the audience through the human body. The body belongs to Zookeeper Frank (Bill Murray); he's a down-on-his luck dad with an unsightly bod and an addiction to greasy take-out.

His one saving grace is his forever-loving daughter, Shane (Elena Franklin), who endlessly tries to get her Dad to eat healthy and get fit.

Frank might look fine on the outside, but inside he's a different matter. T

he "city of Frank" is a busy interior metropolis of bacteria-fighting foot soldiers, snot-defending troops and a stomach inked as some sort of airport arrival dome.

Osmosis Jones (Chris Rock) is a bumbling white blood cell that discovers a lethal virus named Thrax (Laurence Fishburne) entering Frank, with destruction on his regime.

Teaming with the newly arrived cold tablet Drix (David Hyde Pierce), Osmosis attempts to convince his superiors of the inner threat, before making the realisation that he and Drix might have to battle the dark warrior alone.

Osmosis Jones, whilst for the most being pleasurable, falls short of it's obvious ambition. And who's to blame? The Farrelly Brothers.

The live action scenes are directed by the Farrelly pair, and the animated scenes - the more enjoyable scenes of the film - by another duo, Piet Kroon and Tom Sito. Most of the scenes by the Farrelly's - the ones with Murray's character Frank, and even some brief scenes with Chris Elliot - are gratuitously disgusting.

The charming performance of Franklin as Murray's daughter is almost a squander because of an ongoing need to fill the screen with conflicting yucky gags. The scene with Murray's large zit is quite a gross addition to the flick.

Thankfully, the majority of the film is animated, and this is where the filmmakers get it right. Even the idea of going into the human body is relatively new for toon inkers - it's been done before in live-action films like Innerspace and Fantastic Voyage - and it's treated skilfully and armed with some astonishing moments.

And, whilst the animation won't break any new ground - especially with more superior films like Shrek and Monsters Inc demanding the kids attention - the awesome detail of the characters, and even the interior 'Frank' is quite a hoot.

Bottom line? While not that thought provoking, 'most' of Osmosis Jones is an enjoyable family farce. And, if it fails to attract a movie-going audience, I'm sure medical centres could use it as a 'stay healthy' video while you're sitting in the waiting room.

3 out of 5

Osmosis Jones
Australian release: Thursday August the 1st
Cast: Chris Rock, Bill Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Chris Elliot, Laurence Fishburne, Brandy Norwood, William Shatner, Ron Howard.
Director: Farrely Brothers, Piet Kroon, Tom Sito.
Website: Click here

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