Mr. Bean's Holiday: Movie Review

I guess Mr. Bean is one of those phenomena that you either love or hate; this can be confirmed by a quick visit to the venerable IMDB forums. Many people seem to attack the character and the features in which he appears as "stupid." Indeed, there's nothing haughty or intellectual about the character or his works - they're just pure, physical comedy, in the tradition of such worthies as Jacques Tati and Peter Sellers. And yet, in their writing, timing, and execution, many of Mr. Bean's gags are pure genius. Just to cite a few examples of Mr. Bean's twisted behavior from the TV series: His credit card and a surly guy's credit card get mixed up. So instead of saying something to him, he follows him and tries to pick his pocket. And his hand gets stuck in the guy's back pocket as he's walking into the stall in the men's room. He oversleeps on the morning of a dentist appointment, so he decides to get dressed and brush his teeth in the back seat of his car, while driving with his feet. He's hosting a New Year's party, and doesn't have food handy. So he opens the window and pulls twigs off of a branch outside and serves them as hors d'oeuvres. Absurd stuff, but great. They way the character is presented, it's hard not to like him, perhaps even relate to him - I know I do. Yes, I'm a Bean fan. And yes, this review is going to be biased. Deal with it.

The news of a new Bean movie was bittersweet for me. Nothing has really been done with the character since his previous film in 1997, aside from a short-lived animated cartoon series. I was glad to see the dry spell end, but also saddened by Rowan Atkinson's announcement that this would be his final portrayal of Mr. Bean. Also, the first movie, while funny, didn't quite live up to the hilarity of the television series that ran in the mid-90s. This series featured a collection of five to ten minute skits, which is probably the ideal method of delivery for Mr. Bean's brand of humor.

Let's take a look at the character himself. Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, is a dopey, luckless Englishman. He seldom speaks at all, choosing instead to exaggerate his gestures and facial expressions, somewhat like a mime. He always wears a gray or brown suit, talks to his teddy bear, and drives a neon green Cooper Mini. It's never clear whether or not he works, but he lives modestly, is single, and seems to have a lot of free time on his hands. Mr. Bean is so bumbling and awkward that he seems almost unable to exist in normal society. In fact, I would even argue that Mr. Bean is a good example of what anthropologists call a "trickster figure;" that is, one who exists outside of the norms of society and causes trouble. Mr. Bean seems to spread mischief and even disaster wherever he goes, whether he means to or not. And often he does, since he seems to posses a rather petty and childish mean streak. Mr. Bean's contrast and interaction with normal people, coupled with his naturally funny face and movements make him effective as a comedic character.

Now on to the movie itself. The film opens with Mr. Bean winning a digital camcorder and a trip to Cannes, in Southern France. He gets up to his usual zaniness on a train, and chokes down raw seafood (shells and all) in a fancy restaurant. His further antics boarding the train cause a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury to be left behind, separating him from his son. The boy gets off at the next stop and encounters a wino, and Mr. Bean, who feels bad about the whole incident, gets off to make sure he's OK. The train leaves without him, separating him from his luggage. And the father's train doesn't stop at that station. Mr. Bean and the boy try to puzzle out the phone number the father held up when passing, and Mr. Bean ends up leaving his wallet, passport, and ticket behind when they board another train. The two are thrown off, and resort to begging and performing on the street to buy food, and a bus ticket to Cannes. While boarding the bus, Mr. Bean's ticket is blown out of his hand and sticks to the foot of a chicken, which is placed in a truck and driven away. Mr. Bean pursues on a bicycle, but doesn't find the ticket. Now separated from the boy, Mr. Bean stumbles onto (and summarily destroys) the set of a commercial shoot. He meets a beautiful aspiring actress who is also headed to Cannes to see her own premier in a bit part, and who happens to be driving a green Cooper Mini, just like his. When they stop in a restaurant, they reunite with the boy, and the three head to Cannes together. The actress sees Mr. Bean's picture on television, and learns that he is suspected of kidnapping the boy. He has to dress like an old lady to get through a police checkpoint. The three end up at the film festival, where everyone is reunited, and Bean's amateur footage is spliced with an arrogant director's film, and is a big hit. Mr. Bean finally gets to go to the beach, and the film ends somewhat ambiguously with a musical number, featuring all the main characters.

The main problem I had with the first Bean movie was that it took Mr. Bean out of his element, and he ended up doing a lot of things that seemed out of character, like giving a speech, and dressing up in commando gear to break into an art museum, and performing surgery. It just didn't have the feel of the series that I so enjoyed. And while it did use some of the same gags from the series (like the enormous turkey stuck on his head) they felt recycled and plundered. Mr. Bean's Holiday did a markedly better job retaining the feel of the series. And the gags were, for the most part, fresh material, which is nice after such a long hiatus. There were some really funny moments, like when Mr. Bean crunches down a crawfish still in the shell, and when he tries to steal a guy's motorbike, which evidently moves at about 2 miles per hour, and they guy overtakes him on foot. There were a lot of little laughs throughout, but no huge, gut-busting moments, nothing really over-the-top, like when Mr. Bean drove from the back seat with his feet in the series. And that was kind of a disappointment.
The film's plot was nothing terribly inspiring or profound. But I can forgive the writers for that, as their job was essentially to write a screenplay around a series of visual gags. In that context, the plot was functional. As I mentioned, Mr. Bean probably lends himself best to short sketches. The language barrier between Mr. Bean and the (mostly) French people he encounters is a good cover for the film's lack of dialog. The ending seemed strange though. Everyone is hanging out at the beach, and breaks into song. Does Mr. Bean get the girl? Does he end up returning to his dingy little London flat? Does he become a famous filmmaker? I guess we'll never really know.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this movie. It was funny and lighthearted throughout, and it featured a character I've come to like a great deal, and who's been missing in action for a long time now. More than anything, it made me wish they'd get the old team back together, and make another TV series, but I guess that's not in the cards. If you are a Bean fan, or are in the mood for some decidedly un-intellectual physical comedy, then you owe it to yourself to check this out. If, on the other hand, you hated the other Bean material, then this probably isn't going to make a convert out of you. It's been real, Mr. Bean, thanks for making a curtain call!