Why Most Critics Need a Day Job

This afternoon we went to see Mr. Bean's Holiday. The critics seemed to hate this.

For example - before we went we read all of the following " Atkinson has never succeeded in making me laugh. Because of this, when I see that he's in a movie, I assume that I won't laugh. And then I don't. So what I'm saying is that if you think Mr. Bean is the funniest character ever created in Western Civilization, then by all means, ignore this review. "(Movies.com) Or "If you've seen 10 minutes of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean routine, you've seen it all. Any larger dose can lead to irritation, dry mouth and depression." (Arizona Daily Star) Or "If you've never been particularly fond of Atkinson's brand of slapstick, you certainly won't be converted by this trifle." (NY Daily News) Or from 1/2 of Ebert and Roeper "I hate Mr. Bean, I hated this movie. He’s an annoying, creepy, leering, sweaty, unfunny character, and ten seconds would be too much and this movie’s like 90 minutes." (Richard Roeper) Or "Too often in Mr. Bean's Holiday, you get the feeling Rowan Atkinson and his collaborators confused the notion of 'building a gag slowly' with 'forgetting to build one at all'.(Chicago Tribune)

But then Box Office magazine said "One of the year’s most enjoyable surprises." That is certainly the way we found it. I've never been a big fan of Bean - a lot of his humor does not work for me. But this movie, which is his adventures in getting from his home to Cannes after winning a lottery, was a real treat. Bean really does not speak in this movie. But he gets his point across. The supporting cast is wonderful and well linked. Some of the bits, including his lip-synching an aria from Madame Butterfly, are priceless. There are several times in the movie where I was on the edge because of the outrageous behavior of Bean - but he seems to pull through.

If you get the chance - ignore the critics - you will not be sorry.