Movie Review: Bean (1997)

The movie stars Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, Pamela Reed, Peter Capaldi,  Burt Reynolds and John Mills. 

I was, once again, up before everyone else this morning and, as I usually do, tried to pass the time watching a movie. There wasn't much to choose from so I ended up picking this film. And, as it turns out, it was a good choice.

I've seen this movie before, but it had been a while and I didn't remember much about it. The film, however, and, in particular, Atkinson, is hilarious.

I think the thing I really liked about this movie was the fantastic way it used sight gags. The best way to describe this movie is you could turn the sound off (and I actually had it turned down quite a bit because I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to way anyone up) and the movie would still be funny. Atkinson has a way of using physical comedy to make a simple situation (such as washing his hands in the bathroom) memorably funny, even if you don't know, for certain, what is going on.

The part about him destroying Whistler's Mother had to be the best, simply because of the way he did it, starting with a tiny spot and progressively making things worse as he tried to correct his original problem. 

Of course, even though that scene is one of the most memorable, the fact he pretty much leaves a path of destruction everywhere he goes, whether it's convincing the airline he has a gun to causing his partner's (MacNicol) wife to leave him, just keeps this film entertaining from start to finish and, even though I've never seen the television show it's based off of, I can understand why it was a popular series.

As I mentioned, I only picked this movie this morning because I couldn't find another option. However, it turned out to be a great way to start my morning. If you haven't seen this movie and are in the mood for a bunch of laughs, I recommend taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: A