Rowan Atkinson's second feature-length outing as the bumbling Brit has moments of genuine humor and charm, but overall, [it's] more of a mini-break than a full vacation
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:109
Fresh:56
Rotten:53
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Mr. Bean's Holiday means well, but good intentions can't withstand the 90 minutes of monotonous slapstick and tired, obvious gags.
Theatrical Release:30-03-2007
Synopsis: The hopelessly daft but delightful Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is back in this jovial comedy. This time he wins a trip to the Cannes Film Festival and havoc ensues to such an extent that he may never... The hopelessly daft but delightful Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is back in this jovial comedy. This time he wins a trip to the Cannes Film Festival and havoc ensues to such an extent that he may never even get there. Mostly a series of episodes involving Bean's inability to communicate with French and Russian speakers, this will please youngsters who may be unable to hold continual plot lines together and for whom adult language is still a bafflement. Many of the extended bits are funny: there's Bean's frantic attempts to catch the train, his fouling up World War Two movie set, knocking shellfish into a lady's purse, messing up the Cannes premiere of an uptight director, and bonding with a Russian boy who gets separated from his father (thanks to Bean's misdoings). An aspiring young actress (Emma de Caunes) helps out and Willem Dafoe is the uptight director. Nay-sayng critics will say that Atkinson's rubbery, contorted face and spastic physicality are perhaps best left on the small screen, but millions of Bean fans can't be wrong; there's plenty to enjoy, from the hilarious scene of Bean earning money by lip-synching the songs of a fellow busker, to his meddling in the projection booth at Cannes. The kid in all of us, perhaps still smarting from being called clumsy and clueless, should delight in Bean's weird brand of perfect revenge. As a bonus, the cinematography is beautiful, capturing the glistening waves and beautiful beaches of the Riviera with a travelogue's eye. [More]
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Jean Rochefort, William Dafoe
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Jean Rochefort, William Dafoe
Director: Steve Bendelack
Director: Steve Bendelack
Screenwriter: Hamish McColl, Robin Driscoll
Producer: Peter Bennett-Jones, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Composer: Howard Goodall
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Mr. Bean's Holiday
Rowan Atkinson continues a tradition that in the right hands never gets stale: comic pantomime.
The humour in Mr. Bean's Holiday, more chucklesome than uproarious, doesn't feel particularly contemporary. It has the kind of simplicity that's most likely to appeal to either the old or young.
People with video cameras can be truly annoying to travel with, but you wouldn't mind the home movies if they were all like this.
Cackles & guffaws are sparse amidst much meandering. Willem Dafoe at Cannes, however, is quite funny.
As a character who doesn't play on your sympathies, Bean somehow seems less tiresome, less demanding, less of a nuisance.
Excellent entertainment, and for fans of the show, it's absolutely essential
The Mr. Bean character is reminiscent of cheap chocolate - some people love it, others despise it, and few can consume too much without feeling nauseous.
The master of many faces and a bountiful bag of body language tricks where words exist as mere secondary reference points if at all, Atkinson outdoes even himself this time around.
It wears thin quickly, making even the 78-minute running time feel like a decade when one is in the thick of Bean prancing around the frame.
Atkinson's amazing physical prowess and impeccable timing help him compare favorably with Chaplin, Keaton, etc.
Mr. Bean's Holiday doesn't try for too much, but in the crass and noisy theme park that is children's entertainment, it's as refreshing as icewater on a summer day.
Atkinson's physical comedy is so finely honed that there are moments when his timing is almost balletic, lifting the predictable story to sublime heights.
Mr. Bean's Holiday is no Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, but preteens especially might enjoy it.
Too often in Mr. Bean's Holiday, you get the feeling Rowan Atkinson and his collaborators confused the notion of 'building a gag slowly' with 'forgetting to build one at all'.
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