Mr. Bean’s Holiday
You may not know it (I didn’t, but my companion/father did) but this is a remake of the insanely adored 1953 French film Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. Full disclosure: we missed the first couple of minutes with our hubristic surety that the theatre would be empty. It was packed! A rated-G movie, a remake of a French film, or even just a ten-years-too-late Mr. Bean franchise entry, in summer! Proof that no-one knows anything about what will tickle moviegoer’s fancies.
Anyway, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson, rubbery-faced and hapless) decides to go to Cannes on holiday, to see the beach. He’s video-taping every glorious second - the luggage trolley, getting on the train, his first French food… Much of the film is shot traditionally with a big heavy camera and film, but we are treated to some genuine guerilla footage thanks to Bean’s handicam. (See Gare de Lyon.) His vacation footage makes a simple “not sure how to eat a prawn” scenes more interesting and oddly, more amusing as well. Ultimately, his prolific filming does serve the story in an unexpected way as well, so it’s not just an annoying tourist affectation.
Mr. Bean’s Holiday mocks (but not cruelly) travelers who are unprepared, who don’t speak the language, and who are so self-absorbed in their quest that they leave a swath of destruction (self- and otherwise) behind them. It also mocks the self-important, the arrogant, and loves the little guy. Bean is mostly too innocent to wreak pure malice (though he does do a few things seemingly out of character), but the set-ups are nearly as outrageous as anything Borat could manage. This is no mean feat considering the film remains G-rated and safely positive.
A series of mishaps and improbable errors has our feckless leader traveling with unexpected side routes and companions (I won’t ruin it) to deliver a hilarious and damning blow against American filmmaking as well. Holiday has simple, cartoonish moments (the equivalent of a walking bush as camoflage and the ridiculous things adults might do to try and make a baby laugh) and savvy stabs at pretension and over-seriousness. Willem DaFoe plays an American director and I wondered if his film Playback Time was a direct (clean) reference to and mockery of Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny. Yes, I was in a Mr. Bean movie thinking that.
Rowan Atkinson was first known to me for his Blackadder series, a backwards introduction indeed. Bean fans hearing Blackadder speak must have started at his intense verbal wit and censure. For me, seeing Atkinson’s eyes bulge and flobbery lips shake is surprising. However, there is no denying Atkinson’s total control over his entire performing instrument. A climactic stroll in Cannes feels as designed and inevitable as dominoes falling, and just as smooth and satisfying. I was surprised at how funny the movie was, though it is not Superbad funny. It is definitely old-school - a movie you can take your kids to that won’t insult you and which also harkens back to the golden age of filmmaking. This is a movie where language and irony are trumped by the simple human gesture and comedic genesis of leaving your wallet behind by mistake. For more along this vein, check out the films of the winner of the On The Lot reality series, Will Bigham. Simple charm and the silent movie aesthetic are not dead yet.
If you are as repelled by the previews for movies like Balls of Fury or The Comeback, come give the old school a try.
MPAA Rating G
Release date 8/24/07
Time in minutes 88
Director Steve Bendelack
Studio Universal Pictures
