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MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY

Review by Michael Jacobson

Stars:  Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Max Baldry, Jean Rochefort, Willem Dafoe
Director:  Steve Bendelack
Audio:  Dolby Digital 5.1
Video:  Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Studio:  Universal
Features:  See Review
Length:  90 Minutes
Release Date:  November 27, 2007

“You speak very good French.”

“Gracias!”

Film ***

You can’t keep a good Bean down, so it’s no surprise that Rowan Atkinson is back, bringing his delightful comical creation to the big screen for a second time.

Mr. Bean’s Holiday is quite an improvement over the wretched Bean: The Movie.  Like most of Mr. Bean’s comedy, it’s sketchy, episodic, and strung across a clothesline of a plot.  But Atkinson is a genius comparable to the silent greats like Chaplin or Keaton, and it is on his affable spirit that the movie’s joy solidly hangs.

When Mr. Bean wins a trip to France (along with a video camera), it provides not only the perfect fish-out-of-water scenario, but an adventure where everything can go wrong, and mostly, it all does.  From Bean’s escapade in a fine dining establishment to his mishap on a bullet train that leaves him in the custody of a Russian boy (Baldry) trying to get back to his father, or whether it’s Bean inadvertently wrecking a commercial being shot by pompous American director Carson Clay (Dafoe), there is mirth and mayhem galore.

Bean has always been a creature who solves problems by the shortest available route, and when his pretty new friend Sabine (de Caunes) ends up on the cutting room floor at Cannes, Bean fixes it the only way he knows how.  Only in France, I tell you.

He may be a bit older than you remember, but that melts away the moment Rowan Atkinson puts on his rubbery face and childlike gait.  Mr. Bean’s Holiday is a wonderful return to a wonderful character.  This one’s for the fans.  You know who you are.

Video ***

A very nice anamorphic rendering from Universal.  There’s a touch of grain here and there, but nothing that really takes you out of the moment.  Colors are well-presented throughout and images are generally quite clear.

Audio ***

Slapstick comedy and 5.1 sound are a good mix, and there’s enough bumbling and bungling to keep this audio lively, fun and fairly dynamic, with good ambient effects abounding.

Features **

There are a total of 17 deleted scenes on the disc, plus three featurettes containing interviews with Atkinson and others.

Summary:

Mr. Bean is a gas (sorry, couldn’t resist), and Mr. Bean’s Holiday is a light romp through Jacques Tati territory.  Rowan Atkinson remains in top form, and the movie offers plenty of laughs.