Mr Bean's Holiday
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe.
This film sees Rowan Atkinson return to his classic role as the bumbling Mr Bean. This is the second Mr Bean movie (the first was the 1997 film Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie) and in it Mr Bean wins a seaside holiday to the South of France. The usual Bean-inspired chaos ensues and a series of disasters (all documented on Mr Bean’s holiday video-camera) follows him south from Paris through to the Cannes Film Festival on his quest to get to the beach. Rowan Atikinson is as hilariously expressive as ever and his supporting cast are good, especially Willem Dafoe as the egocentric film director and Max Baldry as the French boy Bean befriends on his trip. Those who loved Mr Bean’s television antics will enjoy the scenes involving a Mini Cooper but will be disappointed that teddy doesn’t make an appearance. The problem with adapting Mr Bean to film format is that he is forced to interact more with people and actually speak — losing some of the edge that the mostly silent TV Bean humour had. This film is essentially a feel-good comedy; it pokes fun at serious art-house movies. The cringe-worthy scenes of Bean humour are mostly predictable (one notable exception was a fantastic demonstration of Mr Bean’s operatic flair) but Mr Bean’s Holiday is a great family film — forgettable but it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy.
3.5 Stars
Marion Byrne
