2008 Woodie Awards
Bean's holiday provides clean humor
Brendan Block
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Gallery
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This light-hearted comedy preserves pure slapstick comedy and innocence.
Those who do not like movies with little dialogue may not find this appealing, but for people who enjoy crazy facial expressions and witty situational humor, this movie is for you.
Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, is an old family favorite from a 1990's hit television show in the United Kingdom. "Mr. Bean's Holiday" is his second feature film and far surpasses his first in greatness.
The film starts with Mr. Bean winning a raffle for a free vacation to the beach in Cannes, France. His flight takes him from London to Paris. However, knowing the absent- minded Mr. Bean, it will be an arduous task to make it from Paris to Cannes by train. Bean may be a grown man, but in many ways he acts like a small child. Bean brings a video camera along and has a man take his video in front of the train. Bean takes the camera from the man and boards the train while the man gets the door shut in his face. Unknowingly, this act separates a father from his son on the train.
Bean finds a young boy estranged from his dad and teams up with him while they have many unexpected meetings with cops, farmers and movie stars.
Bean makes the movie with his clumsiness and his forgetfulness. He forgets his wallet and passport and is forced off the train with the boy because he does not have a ticket. The two are forced to perform on the street in hopes of raising funds to get to Cannes, France. The whole time that Bean tries to help the kid home, the police are looking for him because they assume Bean kidnapped the young boy.
One of his misadventures happens in a fine French restaurant where he eats some slimy oysters, and he does not want to offend the cook and waiter so he sticks them in his napkin and rids himself of the evidence in a lady's purse next to him. The lady's cell phone rings from her purse, and Bean abruptly lays his money down and leaves. He runs down the street while hearing a woman screaming hysterically.
The movie is really a hit to me because it involves little dialogue compared to most modern day films but is still funny.
In the end, the movie portrays a wonderful reunion of a father and son all aided by their amicable but quirky friend, Mr. Bean.
The movie shows Hollywood that someone can still be funny without base-level humor and with a G-rating.
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