Murphy does little w/DOLITTLE remake
Written: May 30 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: You wish!!
Cons: wisecracking animals, gas humor
|
|
|
| SKAD13's Full Review: Dr. Dolittle |
If ever one needed evidence of Hollywood's bankruptcy of ideas, a remake of an overblown, 30-year-old kiddie film that nearly killed its studio ought to serve nicely as Exhibit A. Yet even the movie's title displays its makers' timidity. Notice how they took one of the "o's" out of Dr. Dolittle?
But the new movie has little to do with the famed children's stories, anyway, or even with the infamous 1967 musical. Instead, it's as though someone saw Babe and made a concerted effort to drain all of its charm and imagination away. To this end, director Betty Thomas has:
* added Eddie Murphy as the title character, running around frantically in an effort to convince us what a screamingly funny farce this is;
* taken its initially charming premise--that of a man who enjoys a special rapport with animals--and turned it into an excuse to display a bunch of wisecracking vermin who seem ready for sitcom auditions;
* remake a musical without the music. It worked for I'll Do Anything, didn't it?
The mild pretense to plot depicts Dolittle (Murphy) as an uptight prig of a doctor who convinces first himself and then everyone around him that he's gone off the deep end because he hears animals telling him things. As if this wasn't contrived enough, there's a subplot (about Dolittle's practice being taken over by a major medical player) that takes itself far more seriously than any of the movie's makers take it.
To add to the movie's creeping cynicism, it employs a number of major names (Garry Shandling, Albert Brooks, and some "SNL" veterans better off not noted) to do the voices for the smart-aleck animals. The most ironic part is that the creatures are quite convincing, having been brought to life by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the same group that did the animatronics for Babe. How could anyone see that movie and not realize that after you bring the animals to life, the next step is to give them some personality beyond that of some bad stand-up comics?
I get unduly annoyed at movies like this because there exist makers of family films who believe you can make them without insulting your audience's intelligence. Despite the oodles of money spent on special effects and celebrity voices, there's nothing in Dr. Dolittle that you can't find on a sub-par hour of Cartoon Network.
Dr. Dolittle is rated PG-13 for adult language, many sexual references, and some unfortunate flatulence humor.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
SKAD13
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Steven Bailey
Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Reviews written: 689
Trusted by: 88 members
About Me:
I'm # 55, but I try harder.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.