Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I am opposed to remakes in general. Rarely are they as good as the original. I have thought, and continue to think, that remakes are a way to admit that filmmakers are not as creative as they once were, and a remake begins with a completed product. Having said all that, I did like this movie. The movie has problems, but I managed to ignore the problems and have a few good laughs.
Professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) is a science genius. Professor Brainard has enough inventions in his house to keep a fleet of patent agents and attorneys busy for years. However, the movie ignores such trivialities to focus on Professor Brainard's need to develop a cheap source of power. The story has Brainard focusing on his pursuit of cheap power to the exclusion of his fiancée Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden) and his impending marriage to her. Brainard also seems to be oblivious that Wilson Croft is out to steal his girl, his inventions and sink the college at which they are employed, all at the same time.
Robin Williams is in good form, providing laughs throughout the film. While Fred MacMurray had an air of absent-minded innocence that Williams fails to achieve, Williams brings his own style to the role and does a good job. Marcia Gay Harden almost seems unnecessary to the film though I did like her character. Williams's frenetic characterization of Brainard makes everyone else seem mundane in comparison.
Two of the biggest stars in this movie are special effects, the flubber and a flying robot. The flubber sings and dances and squeaks like a mouse. The robot watches too many soap operas and movies and is jealous of Sara Jean. The robot works diligently to keep the wedding from happening.
This movie does ignore a lot of things in order to keep the plot moving along. I kept wondering how Brainard created an intelligent flying robot the size of a football. Brainard also ignores the need for nuclear elements to power his flubber, with the attendant problems associated with nuclear materials. The missing of the wedding seemed an excessive plot detail, and I found that portion of the plot distracting.
I think the original "Absent-Minded Professor" movie remains superior to the remake. However, if you ignore that this movie is a remake and you are able to ignore the inconsistencies, the movie has a number of very funny moments. I would consider this movie for a family library, though some of the action is quite violent and I would probably limit watching to children ages 7 or 8 and above. Good luck!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Disney's Flubber (1997)
Packed with unmistakable Disney magic, FLUBBER explodes on the screen, fusing adventure, eye-popping visual effects, and the gravity-defying comic genius of Robin Williams. The resulting concoction is a hilarious adventure for all ages. Brilliant but befuddled Professor Phillip Brainard (Williams) is on the brink of inventing a revolutionary energy source and missing his wedding to fiancee Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden) -- president of financially challenged Medfield College -- for the third time! When Phillip experiments with his own big bang theory, a miraculous elastic good -- Flubber -- emerges, leaving him ecstatic, but unmarried! Phillip and his flying cyber sidekick, Weebo, soon discover that Flubber, applied to anything, enables it to bounce super high and fast. However, many questions remain. Is Flubber good enough to win Sara back, save Medfield from its financial problems, and slip through the hands of the evil financier who is bankrolling the college? FLUBBER slips, slides, giggles, glides, flips, and flies -- the stuff of surefire family entertainment. Now you can bring home Disney's box office hit that's two parts innovation, three parts imagination, and "100% pure fun!" (CNN)
Click here for more information about Disney's Flubber (1997)
0 comments:
Post a Comment