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"Mr. Bean's Holiday" (G, 1 hr., 27 min.)
Much of the alleged charm of actor Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character, a childlike, largely nonverbal mischief-maker who leaves chaos in his wake, has been lost on The Family Filmgoer from the start. She has always found him a tad creepy. "Mr. Bean's Holiday" revisits him 10 years after "Bean" (PG-13, 1997), the first feature spun off from the character Atkinson created for British TV. "Mr. Bean's Holiday," with its G rating, has virtually no sexual innuendo, profanity, drinking or smoking, though there is an explosion on a World War II-era film set. Bean wins a trip to Cannes and some kids 10 and older will find amusement in Bean's physical humor throughout his travels -- Atkinson has rubber limbs and a rubber face when lip-syncing to an aria or chewing on shellfish, shells and all. Yet the film's clever spoof of the Cannes Film Festival (Willem Dafoe as a pompous American director) will be lost on kids, and the plot's linchpin is stunningly tone-deaf: Bean accidentally causes a boy (Max Baldry) and his filmmaker dad (Karel Roden) to be separated on their way to Cannes. The hilarity hinges on Bean's efforts to get the boy back to his father. After all the warnings kids hear about not talking to strangers, let alone getting on a train or into a car with them, "Mr. Bean's Holiday" seems odd, at the least.
P.S. FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER: Actor Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character got a lot of inspiration from great film comedians of silent movie days, back in the in the 1920s and before. If you get a chance, check out Buster Keaton in "Sherlock Jr." (1924) or Charlie Chaplin in "The Gold Rush" (1925).
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"The Nanny Diaries" (PG-13, 1 hr., 45 min.)
An uncertain college grad with no clue what career to follow, Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) signs on as nanny to a wealthy Park Avenue couple, Mr. and Mrs. X (Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney), to care for their spoiled but affection-starved pre-school boy, Grayer (Nicholas Reese Art). The job becomes a 24/7 thing as she bonds with the boy and at the same time becomes obsessed with his nightmare parents -- all despite slave-labor hours and meager pay. What the young anthropology major learns about herself and her elite employers could fill a book, which is what the film is based on -- the novel by former Manhattan childcare workers Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Teen audiences -- girls especially -- will delight in this young woman's search for a place in the world and for love (with a handsome neighbor of the Xs, referred to as the Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans -- Johnny Storm from the "Fantastic Four" films)). The movie features a steamy kiss, an implied overnight liaison, and sexual innuendo that hints at Mr. X's adultery -- an intimate cuddle with a colleague and a pass at Nanny. Characters drink, smoke and use occasional strong profanity.
Co-directors/screenwriters Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini ingeniously treat this satire as an anthropological case study. (Annie the Nanny imagines her career possibilities as dioramas at the Museum of Natural History.) The approach allows for exaggeration, which lends the film visual panache, but also maintains a balance between satiric archness and emotional truth. Johansson is always a natural, and Linney is simply electric as the tense, overdressed, deeply insecure Mrs. X. Singer Alicia Keys turns up as Annie's more levelheaded college pal.
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"Resurrecting the Champ" (PG-13, 1 hr., 51 min.)
Samuel L. Jackson's galvanizing performance as a homeless has-been boxer keeps "Resurrecting the Champ" afloat for nearly two acts. Eventually, though, the dramatic mush at the movie's core sinks it. The film becomes all about a callow newspaper sports reporter (Josh Hartnett) with paternal abandonment issues who learns to take responsibility. As Hartnett plays him, though, he's not very interesting, and the supporting cast barely registers, except for Alan Alda as a crusty editor. Despite its flaws, some teens may find this cautionary tale emotionally involving. The boxing scenes include bloody noses and swollen eyes but are not graphic. The PG-13 reflects two harsh moments, which could upset younger teens, when drunken bullies beat up Jackson's homeless Champ. Other elements include a use of the F-word, very mild sexual innuendo, drinking, smoking and verbal references to an abusive childhood, with a scar to show for it.
Partly inspired by a 1997 Los Angeles Times article, the movie profiles Erik (Hartnett), a careless sports reporter at a Denver paper. He longs to live up to his late father's reputation as a sports journalist, and he wants to win back his estranged wife (Kathryn Morris of TV's "Cold Case"), a respected print reporter herself, and make his 6-year-old son (Dakota Goyo) proud. He sees the Champ (Jackson) under attack, shoos away the bullies, befriends him and writes a life-changing piece. Director Rod Lurie tries to draw a parallel between Erik's and the Champ's personal flaws and lies, but through sheer lack of artistry, the intended echo never sounds.
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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME
-- OK FOR 8 AND OLDER:
"Underdog" PG (Live-action update (with digital effects) of 1960s and '70s TV 'toon will entertain kids because human (and beagle) actors put heart in their roles; a mad scientist (Peter Dinklage) transforms a K-9 unit dropout into a superpowered talking pooch; the dog escapes and is unwittingly adopted as a normal hound by Dan (Jim Belushi) for his son Jack (Alex Neuberger); the dog shows Jack his superpowers and the two invent Underdog, the crime fighter. Mildly scary bits could upset under-8s -- a giant syringe (we don't see an injection), chases, fights, explosions, abductions, interrupted robberies; Jack's schoolmate (Taylor Momsen) and her dog get mugged, but are fine; canine sexual innuendo, toilet humor.)
-- MORE ACCESSIBLE TO KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Mr. Bean's Holiday" G (NEW) (Kids may enjoy the physical comedy of British actor Rowan Atkinson's barely verbal, unwitting Mr. Bean, who always leaves chaos in his wake, but the film is uneven and problematic; in this second film (following "Bean," PG-13, 1997) Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes; despite witty grace notes -- Bean, with his rubber face, lip-syncing an aria, eating shellfish, shells and all, a clever spoof of the Cannes Film Festival -- the film's central idea is bizarre: Bean accidentally causes a boy (Max Baldry) and his filmmaker dad (Karel Roden) to get separated on their way to Cannes; Bean's efforts to get the boy back to his dad fuel the plot but feel off base and warrant a PG, since kids today learn not to talk to strangers almost from birth.)
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY AND ONE ARTY PG FOR TEENS:
"The Nanny Diaries" (NEW) (Annie (Scarlett Johansson), a bright college grad uncertain of her calling, signs on as nanny with a wealthy Park Avenue couple, Mr. and Mrs. X (Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney) to care for their spoiled, affection-starved preschooler (Nicholas Reese Art) in a witty, watchable adaptation of the novel (by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus); film neatly blends anthropological observation, arch satire, emotion, and visual panache; Chris Evans (Johnny Storm in the "Fantastic Four" films) as the "Harvard Hottie" upstairs; singer Alicia Keys as Annie's pal. A steamy kiss; implied overnight liaison; hints of Mr. X's adultery -- a cuddle with a colleague; drinking; smoking; rare strong profanity. Not for 'tweens.)
"Resurrecting the Champ" (NEW) (A callow sports reporter (Josh Hartnett) tries to jump-start his faltering newspaper career by profiling a homeless ex-boxer calling himself the Champ (Samuel L. Jackson); Jackson's terrific performance keeps the film (based in part on a 1997 Los Angeles Times article) afloat part of the way, until Hartnett's weak characterization and other narrative mush sink it; director Rod Lurie's attempt to link the two men through paternal abandonment and truth-telling issues doesn't gel. Nongraphic boxing scenes with bloody noses, swollen eyes; younger teens could be upset to see drunken bullies beat up the Champ; one use of the F-word; mild sexual innuendo; drinking, smoking; verbal references to an abusive childhood, with a scar to show for it.)
"The Invasion" (Nicole Kidman as a somber, incongruously well dressed heroine in disjointed, only sometimes breath-catching remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" films (1956, unrated; 1978, PG), with little new to say; Carol (Kidman), a Washington, D.C., shrink, learns her ex (Jeremy Northam), an epidemiologist, has been infected by a rampant bug from outer space, so she races to get her son (Jackson Bond) back from him; exposed victims awake as automatons, infect others by regurgitating on them (yech). High-speed chases, crashes, people run over; gunplay; vicious dog chases kids; infected man, covered in slime, dies after a seizure; people jump to their deaths; Carol stalked in subway tunnel; verbal account of a man killing a pet; a muted kiss; Kidman seen briefly in translucent sleepwear; drinking; mild profanity. OK for teen sci-fi/thriller fans.)
"Rush Hour 3" (Hong Kong police inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and L.A. detective Carter (Chris Tucker) reunite (after "Rush Hour," 1998, and "Rush Hour 2," 2001, PG-13s) to fight Asian triad crime syndicates in Paris; story makes no sense, but formula still makes laughs. Martial-arts face-offs with fists, blades, sticks, including a cool Eiffel Tower fight; high-speed chases; gunplay; leering but nonthreatening sexual innuendo (and a bit of sexism); ethnic, racial stereotypes spoofed; racial slurs referred to by first letters only; implied toplessness among dancers; briefly lewd but nonexplicit sexual situation; rare profanity.)
"Stardust" (Richly adorned, at times overproduced fairy tale (based on Neil Gaiman's graphic novel) looks old but sounds breezily modern; Tristran (Charlie Cox), a young man from an old English village, crosses into a forbidden magical kingdom to retrieve a fallen star who turns out to be a young woman (Claire Danes) needing protection from a witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) and princes who want to cut out her heart to gain eternal youth. Witches gouge animal entrails (barely off-camera); nongory but intense stabbings, bone-snappings; mild sexual innuendo; implied trysts; implied nudity; rare profanity; themes deal gently with sexual identity (Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing pirate), unwed pregnancy.)
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Hyperkinetic thriller -- gloriously dizzying and paranoid -- is a stunning finale to the Bourne trilogy ("The Bourne Identity," 2002; "The Bourne Supremacy," 2004, PG-13s), updating Robert Ludlum's Cold War novels to the terror-tainted present; Matt Damon as amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne, gets to the source of his identity, and why most (but not all) CIA higher-ups want him dead. Violence approaches bloody R levels in bone-crushing fights, lethal gunplay; foot chases, car chases are breathlessly shot and could induce motion sickness in some; mild profanity. High-school thriller buffs.)
"The Simpsons Movie" (Riotous feature-length episode of the iconic animated TV show loses momentum briefly, midway, but recovers; it is tasteless and subversive, but never raunchy; boneheaded patriarch Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) pollutes Lake Springfield, causing the EPA to quarantine the town under a dome; the Simpsons escape lynching and flee to Alaska. Son Bart (Nancy Cartwright), on a dare from Homer, skateboards naked; we glimpse Bart's sketchily drawn "doodle"; characters drink and smoke -- including, at times, kids; pious Christians spoofed; mildly crude language; rare profanity; brief bedroom scene with Homer and Marge (Julie Kavner); two gay policemen kiss, enter a motel; robot suicide gag. Topical jokes may be lost on kids 10 to 13, but -- with parental OKs -- they'll still judge the film a riot.)
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Wizard-in-training Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) at 15 feels alienation and foreboding in this somber, gripping meditation on trials faced by all truth-tellers, based on J.K. Rowling's fifth book; cruel Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) joins Hogwarts to impose the Ministry of Magic's Taliban-esque rules, forbidding mention of evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes); Harry secretly trains his friends to fight Voldemort and the climactic battle, though largely bloodless, is chilling. Skeletal spirits could spook younger kids, but Voldemort's awful face is the scariest sight; Umbridge etches words on Harry's hand -- torture, really; younger kids may shrink from gamekeeper Hagrid's (Robbie Coltrane) giant half brother; gross humor about boils; adults drink. Parents of younger kids may want to pre-screen.)
-- R's AND AN UNRATED DOCUMENTARY:
"Death at a Funeral" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) (Funeral farce starts shakily, but builds to a fine level of hilarity with a fab British cast. Struggling novelist Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen -- Mr. Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice," PG, 2005) tries to organize his father's funeral at the family's English country house, but: the wrong body is delivered first; a stranger (Peter Dinklage) implies Daniel's father had a secret life; a cousin's boyfriend (Alan Tudyk) freaks out on hallucinogens he thought were tranquilizers. Drug humor; very strong profanity; drinking; smoking; nudity; body falls out of coffin; strong sexual innuendo; homophobic humor; gross toilet humor. 17 and older.)
"2 Days in Paris" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) (Engaging relationship comedy -- profane, sexually explicit, very adult -- but wise and witty about human nature; written, directed and starring actress Julie Delpy; a French photographer (Delpy) living in New York visits her Parisian parents (Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet -- Delpy's real actor-parents) with her non-French-speaking American boyfriend (Adam Goldberg); he hates how they keep running into her ex-lovers; tensions escalate. Explicit sexuality; nudity; strong profanity, sexual language; talk of an aid worker who sexually abused third-world children; a skinned pig cut in half at a market; drinking; smoking. Not for under-17s.)
"Superbad" (Riotous, lewd teen comedy about lifelong teen buds Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera); smart but dorky, they're heading to different colleges and desperate to lose their virginity first; a kid (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) even geekier than they uses a fake ID to get booze for them to bring to a party, until two idiot cops (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen; Rogen, star of R-rated "Knocked Up," co-wrote the script) divert him. Highly explicit sexual language; drugs, drunkenness; squirm-inducing scene about menstrual blood; drawings of male sex organs; semiexplicit sexual situations -- mild compared to the language; the boys' naivete and desperation keeps "Superbad" from actual obscenity. Not for under-17s.)
"Rocket Science" (LIMITED RELEASE) (Brainy teen indie comedy offers poignant yet unsentimental view of life's disappointments, always moving at a fast "screwball comedy" pace; a kid (Reece Thompson) with a painful stutter suffers through his parents' (Lisbeth Bartlett and Denis O'Hare) separation, his brother's (Vincent Piazza) bullying and his fellow teens' taunts until a cute, fast-talking girl (Anna Kendrick) lures him into joining the debate team. Sexual themes refer to teen longing, masturbation; subtler hints of cross-dressing, homosexuality; sounds of protagonist's mom and her new lover (Steve Park) having sex; teens kiss steamily, drink, smoke; profanity. 16 and older.)
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