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Mr. Bean's Holiday

After this one, you'll need a vacation too

By Matt Pais

August 24, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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Stupid and oblivious nincompoop Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is back to frolic in Paris after winning a trip out of London in a raffle. After he's responsible for separating a kid from his Cannes Film Festival-judge dad, Bean slowly and incompetently helps bring the two back together.

Big question: Is this sequel funny enough to defend its existence 10 years after the first Bean movie?

Skip it: Bean runs away from the boy at the drop of a hat, so there's not much redemption to the doofus helping the youngster reunite with his father. Laughs are scarcer than scarce, so anyone wanting a family-friendly flick with lots of goofy facial expressions and mugging for the camera may as well just watch footage of dogs wearing funny hats.

Catch it: For a stinker having the gall to use its smug, satirical finale to suggest American filmmakers and the Cannes Film Festival are pretentious and worthless. Who says people who live in glass houses can't throw stones?

Bottom line: The MPAA should be able to give an "NA" rating for inoffensive but pointless movies like "Mr. Bean's Holiday." Its meaning? Appropriate for everyone, suggested for no one.

Bonus: It's rare to see a G-rated movie feature a suicide, when a random man jumps off a bridge. If you listen closely, you can hear kids around the world being told, "Don't worry, honey. He's just going for a swim."

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