"Bean" is a comedy based upon the British television series "Mr. Bean", which is familiar to American viewers due to runs on PBS stations. Rowan Atkinson is Bean, who is sort of a British version of Pee Wee Herman. He makes goofy faces, mumbles when it is a possible alternative to speaking, and conducts experiments with people or physical objects around him that usually end in disaster.
Bean is employed by a British museum. He is regarded as useless and is relegated to sitting in a chair in a corner. At least there he can do harm. To be rid of him, even temporarily, he is sent to a Los Angeles museum to preside over the ceremony of that museum acquiring a priceless work of art.
Museum curator Peter MacNicol draws the unlucky assignment of hosting Bean during his visit. Out of his element, Bean gets into increasing trouble. His inability to socially interact with others alienates MacNicol's family, which promptly moves out. MacNicol soon has even worse fears of unemployment and imprisonment, all due to Bean's eccentric and destructive antics.
The movie is different from the series. In the series, people regard Bean as mostly normal. In the movie, Bean, the exact same character, is regarded as bizarre, alien, and dangerous, and not merely eccentric. This interesting tack would leave us feeling sorry for Bean, if his behavior would only deserve such sympathy. But he is so recklessly clueless that he almost needs to be institutionalized.
Although "Bean" is not a bad movie, it came as a disappointment to his followers in the U.S. Some of the gags were repeated from his television series, the most memorable involving a large, roasted turkey. It is easy to accept Bean's character, but not MacNicol's bonding to this obviously destructive idiot who seems bent on destroying his life. I don't understand how Bean could be left alone in a room with a priceless painting. And Bean, who is demonstrated to be incompetent in the first half of the film, performs complex and heroic actions in the second half that he seems nowhere capable of in the first half.
I didn't like the character of MacNichol's daughter (Tricia Vessey). What a brat! Burt Reynolds has a cameo as a General. His character has a few stupid lines, and he constantly wears a smirk on his face. Perhaps he is thinking of his paycheck for a single day's work.
Still, if you are a fan of the "Mr. Bean" show, you will probably enjoy the movie. You may alternately laugh and groan as Bean gets into trouble. At ninety minutes, the film is the proper length and doesn't drag often. (47/100)
Bean: The Movie (with Movie Money) - Dvd - "thomas Mills,rob Brownstein,scott Charles,april Grace,julia Pearlstein,gigi Fields,dakin Matthews,annette ...More at Target
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