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Before I begin, I need to come right out
and admit something. I hate Mr. Bean. While I’ll admit to getting the odd chuckle out
of him every once in a while, those times are rare. The rest of time I spend cringing in
pain. And while Rowan Atkinson was a little less painfully stupid in Rat Race, I
was still a little bit skeptical about watching Johnny English. I was intrigued
by the previews, though, so I gave it a shot—despite my uncertainty. And I’m glad I
did.
Atkinson stars as Johnny English, an awkward British secret agent who
finally gets his chance at real Bond-like action and adventure once every other guy in
the agency dies. When the Crown Jewels are stolen from the Tower of London, English
suspects the shifty Frenchman Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich)—so he and his assistant,
Bough (Ben Miller) set out to recover the jewels and bring Sauvage to justice—even if it
means defying their leader, Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith).
I spent most my
time while watching this movie trying to catch my breath—it was that funny. Granted, it
requires a certain sense of humor—one that’s amused by all-out goofiness. But I happen
to possess that particular sense of humor—and, as a result, I laughed much more than I
cringed.
For once, Atkinson sets aside his grunts and goofy faces and
gives real dialogue a shot. His character is a little less out-there—he’s a relatively
normal guy who tries really hard but just seems to mess up a lot. And he manages to do a
few things right along the way, too.
Maybe I liked Johnny English
because it reminded me of Inspector Gadget—the cartoon I used to watch when I was
a kid. Like English, Gadget was a bit of a bumbling idiot who never really could figure
out all that gadgets he was given, but he still managed to get lucky every once in a
while and hunt down the bad guys (usually with a lot of help from his brilliant niece,
Penny). Or maybe I liked it because it reminded me of Bill Murray’s The Man Who Knew Too
Little.
Whatever the case, though, Johnny English really
was funny. Brilliant? No. A classic? I doubt it. But definitely a great way to spend
a Friday night.
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