BEAN

Already a blockbuster hit around the world, grossing over $100 million, the British comedy BEAN is ready to hit America. Well known by PBS and British television fans, Rowan Atkinson stars as the bumbling man of few words, Mr. Bean, a role he has been performing for over 15 years, but has recently become popular. Occasionally funny but always zany, this British movie mainly set in America, may become an offbeat hit like the wildly popular THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY, but, next to the ribald, slap-stick humor of Jim Carrey, Mr. Bean is just plain goofy and not that funny.

In this feature-length incarnation of Mr. Bean, the dim-witted prankster works at London’s National Art Gallery, as a sit-in-the-corner aid to visitors. The first image we see of him is shaving not only his face, but also his forehead, nose and tongue. His co-workers can’t stand him and want him permanently dismissed. However, Mr. Bean stays due to the kindness of his employer who is endeared to the oddball. The group unanimously elects Mr. Bean to accompany the masterpiece Whistler’s Mother on a trip to a museum in Los Angeles which has just purchased the work. Jubilant, they are glad to see him go.

At the Los Angeles airport, art historian and curator David Langley (Peter MacNicol) waits for Mr. Bean with his family. They are looking forward to a wonderful month of having Mr. Bean, known to them as Dr. Bean, as their house guest. After Bean pretends to carry a gun in the airport and is chased by security, they quickly realize he is strange. He is so strange, in fact, that David’s wife insists that either Bean goes or she goes. Weak-willed, David can’t bring himself to tell Bean he must find other accommodations, and David’s wife and children leave for Grandma’s.

At the art museum, things get worse. Not understanding how American objects work, he spills water on his trousers in the men’s room and creates a gag, which lasts too long, about covering up his waist area. Furthermore, when Whistler’s Mother is revealed, Bean accidentally sneezes on it and begins a series of repairs which virtually destroy the painting. David thinks his personal life and career are ruined. Back at David’s home, Bean accidentally gets his head into the cavity of a raw turkey, and then blows up the bird in a microwave. On the day the painting is revealed to the public, David can only watch the horrified public see a defaced painting. However, Bean prolongs the agony by temporarily saving the day and switching the defective painting with a life-sized poster. Nobody, including art patron General Newton (Burt Reynolds), is the wiser. Bean gives a brief but convincing speech about the painting, David’s career is saved, and David is reunited with his family.

It is difficult to estimate how American audiences will receive this character. Although Bean is popular on PBS, other audiences may misunderstand the humor and editing style of the movie, or they may think it is too refined for their tastes. Indeed, Gramercy is carefully marking this picture to America. Morally, Bean is not as gross or perverted as Jim Carrey. While there is some bathroom humor, Bean seems to be unaware of his foolishness, unlike Carrey who purposefully makes himself lewd.

This movie is generally quite tame and ultimately moral in regards to David’s plight. He reunites with his family, his wife gets a little more patient with Bean, and he learns to love Bean despite the trouble he has become.

However, Bean himself and the movie have a few serious problems. First, Bean and David get drunk one night when David is most depressed. This is a family movie? Secondly, David’s son invites Bean to come upstairs and look at pictures of naked women. Bean doesn’t, and the son asks jokingly, but this kind of humor seems out of place for this movie. Thirdly, this movie has only two obscenities, but it does have a string of profanities, taking the Lord’s Name in vain. One time David says, “There is no God.” These profanities are primarily exclamatory in response to Bean’s antics, but many people will not appreciate them. Thirdly, Bean not only gets away with defacing Whistler’s Mother, he also gets away with stealing the original. The final shot of the movie shows the painting in Bean’s British home. Bean may have been clever in temporarily resolving a very embarrassing situation, but he makes no amends for ruining property.