Movie Review for Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)

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Review #512 of 365
Movie Review of Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) [G] 90 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 25 August 2007
Time: 3:20 pm
DVD Release Date: 27 November 2007 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Directed by: Steve Bendelack (The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse )
Screenplay by: Hamish McColl (Foley & McColl: This Way Up) • Robin Driscoll (Bean) with story by Simon McBurney and character by Rowan Atkinson

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Rowan Atkinson (Keeping Mum) • Emma de Caunes (The Science of Sleep) • Max Baldry ("Rome") • Karel Roden (The Abandoned) • Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man 3)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
The most important thing about Mr. Bean's Holiday is that it's Mr. Bean. If you're not a 'Beaner', then you might want to avoid this film. For some, the Bean is an acquired taste. Rowan Atkinson makes Mr. Bean work because he is a brilliant physical comedian and hilarious social satirist. In this outing, Mr. Bean wins a vacation trip to the south of France, a little town we call Cannes on the French Riviera. He's to travel by Eurostar to Paris and then switch to a high speed train to the south. Now a story about Mr. Bean would be no story at all were it not for the adventurous mishaps he experiences. The delightful thing about these mishaps is we never know whether he'll turn lemons into lemonade or whether he'll get caught with his hand in what he thought was a giant lemon press but really turned out to be a old-fashioned, lady's over-the-head, hair dryer. One thing's for sure, as he heads out on his adventure, it's going to be fun.

With relative ease, he makes it to Paris, only a minor latte debacle stood between him and a gold star on the Eurostar. Once in Paris, he's got a little time to catch a bite to eat before his next train arrives. A seafood restaurant provides the setting for a clash of good manners and gastronomical gymnastics as he stares down a plate of raw oysters on the half shell and langoustines—you know those, large edible prawns that look like baby lobsters with huge black eyes. A cell phone will play an important role in this scene as so they will throughout the film. As he prepares to board the next train, though, he gets it in his head that the needs some good footage on the video camera he won along with the holiday trip of him boarding the train.

"Rowan Atkinson…does a brilliant job with his acclaimed character this time in a story that is whimsical and serendipitous."
So, he asks a kindly gentleman who also is just about to board to assist in the videography. Several mishaps later, and Mr. Bean finds himself narrowly aboard, while the gentleman, sadly failed to get on as the doors were shutting and Bean could not operate the emergency lever. What Bean does not know, is that the man, Emil (Karel Roden) happens to be the father of a young boy, Stepan (Max Baldry) who is already on the train bound for Cannes. Mr. Bean feels anguish at this discovery and now responsible for the boy, though the boy will have nothing to do with the odd man. Stepan gets off at the next stop just as his fathers platform fleeting instructions suggested. Bean follows when he fears the approach of a drunken homeless guy toward the boy. The next train passes without stopping, and Stepan and Bean catch 8 of 10 phone number digits written on Emil's sign to his son on the videotape. Bean writes out every possible combination, but they realize it's going to take a very long time to make contact if they have to try every possible combination. The two begin to bond as mishap after mishap causes Bean to lose his wallet and eventually his passport. Along the way, Bean will also get a cameo in Carson Clay's (Willem Dafoe) new film that will play an important part in the mercurial, charming, warmly fun and humorous ending.

As a USAer, I've always been drawn to Brit humor in limited doses. I never really got Mr. Bean nor thought he was that funny, though. Rowan Atkinson, however, does a brilliant job with his acclaimed character this time in a story that is whimsical and serendipitous. Also wonderful was Max Baldry, fluent in English and Russian, as Bean's charge and sidekick. There's one scene when they first meet where Max impersonates Mr. Bean's every move that's funny and caring in a way films tend to overlook these days. This particular brand of Bean humor scored a G-rating from the MPAA, not a small challenge; and, for the most part, is family friendly. Along with the great performances by Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Baldry, Emma de Caunes plays the burgeoning actress Sabine with exquisite French foresight. It's hysterical that none of the characters speaks the same first language yet they all seem to get buy just fine. Willem Dafoe's cameo role is also extremely funny and well done. He plays and independent filmmaker preoccupied by his belief that he's tapped into the well of artistically astonishing filmmaking. Another mishap in the end, however, and Bean's video film will be the key to his success as well as that which brings together lost son with his father. The film has a great ending. Sadly, though, too many of the really funny parts were exposed in advance via the theatrical trailer. Trailer editors should be limited to using material from the first five minutes of a film and now more. The 15 minutes or so prior to the arrival in Cannes, also were a bit slow. Otherwise, good show, Mr. Bean!

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Other Projects Featuring Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Cast Members
Rowan Atkinson • Emma de Caunes • Max Baldry
Karel Roden • Willem Dafoe
Director
Steve Bendelack
Writers
Hamish McColl • Robin Driscoll
DVD
VHS
Sticker Book






Review-lite Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) [max of 150 words]
Not to be confused with Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure, though a bicycle plays a prominent role in this film too, Mr. Bean's Holiday is whimsical and serendipitously funny tracing Bean's vacation (Rowan Atkinson) from London to Cannes with plenty of mishaps along the way. The biggest delight comes from young Max Baldry who plays Stepan, a young boy who gets stranded with Bean when he inadvertently prevents his father from boarding as the train departs the station. Baldry, fluent in Russian and English, is the son of a Russian filmmaker heading to Cannes for the film festival where it just happens that Carson Clay (cameo by Willem Dafoe) will also be debuting his new film in which both Stepan and Bean will have unexpected starring roles. The only disappointments were some slow spots and that too many of the most humorous parts were revealed in the trailer.
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