notes on bean
november 11, 1997

The only reason I'm writing anything about Bean is because all the reviews I saw heaped praised upon the movie, while I hated it. It's not that I don't like Mr. Bean, because I've seen a couple of funny short Bean scenes in the past. However, this movie could have been much better.

Mr. Bean is a guy who has both the best and the worst luck in the world. He can accidentally ruin a supposedly $50 million painting by sneezing on it, yet manages to restore it to (almost) perfect condition. He can't cook or use a remote control, but he can miraculously remove bullets from dying gunshot victims.

But the movie was filled with overused gags, including:

• your-nose-sounds-like-a-foghorn
• there's-a-wet-spot-on-the-front-of-your-pants
• pretend-i-have-a-gun-at-the-airport
• the-priceless-fragile-glass-figurine-flew-across-the-room
• the-turkey-exploded-in-the-microwave
• let's-pour-a-bottle-of-laxatives-into-his-coffee

Moreover, the last part of the movie, involving the motorcycle accident, has nothing whatsoever to do with the first part. It's even more poorly integrated than the extraneous subway scene in Speed.

I did enjoy a few scenes in the movie, such as Mr. Bean drinking coffee in the morning, making faces at the police officer, or prancing about behind the one-way mirror at the police station. I also appreciate the effort it must have taken to walk around with a turkey on his head.

Lastly, at our local theater the voices weren't synchronized with the picture, making me feel like I was watching some poorly dubbed martial arts movie. This (probably) isn't the movie's fault, but it definitely added a final surreal touch to an already strange experience.