Now Playing: Mr. Bean Plays Mr. Bond

Imagine Mr. Bean as Austin Powers in a completely unfunny movie that plays out exactly like Steve Carell’s ‘Get Smart’. That’s ‘Johnny English Reborn’ in a nutshell. No less. No more.

Personally, I’m a fan of British humor – good British humor. ‘The Office’. ‘Extras’. ‘Death at a Funeral‘. ‘Coupling’. ‘Top Gear‘. ‘Shaun of the Dead‘. ‘Hot Fuzz‘. All great comedies. But the ‘Johnny English’ movies are the British equivalent of the Wayans brothers’ movies. Technically, they’re comedies, but nobody is laughing. Well, at least I’m not laughing. I understand that these movies are from a country with completely different sense of humor. I just don’t think that mainstream America is the right audience for these childish, silly slapstick movies.

In ‘Reborn’, Rowan Atkinson plays a dim-witted secret agent trying to hunt down an organization plotting an assassination attempt against the Chinese Premier. Wackiness ensues. People fall down and get kicked in the crotch. Hilarious, right? Wrong.

As one character aptly puts it, ‘Johnny English’ is “a five-star turd.” It’s not worth watching, thinking about, or even giving a big wordy review. The End.

Rating: ½☆☆☆☆

4 comments

  1. Alex

    It’s really a shame that this didn’t work. I absolutely love Rowan Atkinson. The original Mr. Bean sketches are good, but his crowning glory is, unquestionably, Black Adder. Rarely has there been such a wry, sharp, biting comedy that includes both slapstick and pure wit. It would be wonderful to see a return to form from Mr. Atkinson.

    Oh, and check out the Rowan Atkinson stand-up on Netflix. If you can get through the opening sketch (Hell’s Welcoming Committee) without falling out of your chair laughing, I’m impressed. And a little saddened.

  2. Jane Morgan

    Rowan Atkinson’s bit in ‘Love Actually’ is one of my favorite.

    But ‘Johnny English’ is painful. Steve Martin ‘Pink Panther’ painful.

  3. It looks terrible, and I’ve never been a Mr Bean fan either. (I actually think The Office and Extras are our embarrassing British exports though…)

    Had to laugh at this line… “I understand that these movies are from a country with completely different sense of humor. I just don’t think that mainstream America is the right audience for these childish, silly slapstick movies.”

    This kind of slapstick comedy is fairly rare over here (in modern films, anyway). It’s always something I’ve lamented far more in american cinema lol! Every time I’ve seen a trailer for Jonny English, I’ve kept thinking it looked like it was aimed more at the US audience than here… 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *