A new Gadget
"Inspector Gadget"
Overall Rating: ***
Normally, I feel out of my element with kids' movies. I grew up on the "Inspector Gadget" cartoons, however, so as soon as I learned about the new Disney movie, I wanted to see it for nostalgia reasons. On the whole, I was pleased with the result.
John Brown (Matthew Broderick) wants nothing more than to be a police officer. Unfortunately, he must settle for being a security guard at the Bradford Robotics Lab. His chance to prove himself comes when Sanford Scolex (Rupert Everett) breaks into the lab, steals a robotic foot, and kills Dr. Artemis Bradford (Rene Auberjonois). Brown promises Dr. Brenda Bradford (Joely Fisher)--the daughter of the murder victim--that the killer will be brought to justice. In the ensuing pursuit, however, Brown is nearly killed and Scolex looses a hand. With Brown rebuilt as the cyborg Inspector Gadget by Brenda, he can resume his pursuit of justice for his arch-rival, now called the Claw.
"Inspector Gadget" is very funny. The humor is generally lowbrow--slapstick comedy makes up the bulk of the humor. Though targeted towards children, adults will also laugh--jokes are nearly omnipresent.
The biggest plus is the cast. While most of the supporting cast is very good, the two stars--Matthew Broderick and Rupert Everett--make the whole movie work. Broderick is wonderful as Inspector Gadget. He plays the part with the same self-assured demeanor he applied to Ferris Bueller, but while Bueller was perfectly competent to skip school, Gadget is not up to detective work (and possibly not even hooky). That invincible air works beautifully. Keeping pace with Broderick all the way is Rupert Everett. Everett is absolutely perfect as The Claw. He is sinister throughout, perhaps a bit amusingly overwrought, and an excellent kids' villain. One noteworthy performance in the supporting cast is a cameo by Don Adams, who provided the voice of the cartoon Gadget and played Maxwell Smart, on whom Inspector Gadget is loosely based; he had one line, but it cracked me up.
There are two points where I have mixed feelings. First is Cheri Oteri, who played Mayor Wilson. Mayor Wilson is a small part, and she's supposed to be annoying; the problem is that Oteri has a voice that reminded me of fingernails on a chalkboard, and may have played it too annoyingly. The other is the movie's deviations from several of the cartoon's staples: for instance, the cartoon never really explained how Gadget got his gadgets, and in every episode, Gadget accidentally blew up the Chief Quimby with an exploding letter; in the movie, an explanation is present, but the exploding notes aren't.
There are also some outright problems. For one thing, D. L. Hughley as the Gadgetmobile simply goes overboard. The part is grating; part of this may be that the Gadgetmobile didn't talk in the cartoon, and part may be its clone-like similarity to the suit in "My Favorite Martian;" regardless, the car is annoying. The plot is thin and the theme is nearly non-existent--though since the "Inspector Gadget" cartoons weren't particularly profound, either, and since young kids are this comedy's main target audience, I wasn't expecting too much. Another problem--and this is the first movie where I thought this was a problem--is product placement; while I usually have no problems with product placements (because I'm in favor of commerce in general), the placements in "Inspector Gadget" are far more intrusive and annoying than in any other film I've seen. After paying $6.75 for a relatively short movie, overt advertising for Yahoo!, Coca-Cola, Disney, Skittles candy, and McDonald's distracted and detracted from the movie.
As a general rule, the movie is appropriate for children. The main potential problem is the violence--while most of the violence doesn't result in harm to people, there are two notable exceptions: the murder of the senior Dr. Bradford and the incident where Gadget and Claw are maimed. There's also a joke where the word "balls" has a double meaning--though the way it's structured, children who don't know the vulgar meaning will probably miss the double entendre.
You may also want to stay for the credits if you see "Inspector Gadget"--there are several jokes scattered throughout the credits. Most of these brief sequences are near the beginning of the credits, but there is a line and an altered logo at the very end.
In the end, I enjoyed "Inspector Gadget," but then, I grew up on the cartoon, so I was reliving a part of my childhood when I saw this film.
Title: "Inspector Gadget"
Release date: July 23, 1999
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 78 min.
Director: David Kellogg
Writers: Dana Olsen (story), Kerry Ehrin (story and screenplay), Zak Penn (screenplay), Audrey Wells (screenplay), based on the "Inspector Gadget" television cartoon series
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Gadget.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Overall Rating: ***
Normally, I feel out of my element with kids' movies. I grew up on the "Inspector Gadget" cartoons, however, so as soon as I learned about the new Disney movie, I wanted to see it for nostalgia reasons. On the whole, I was pleased with the result.
John Brown (Matthew Broderick) wants nothing more than to be a police officer. Unfortunately, he must settle for being a security guard at the Bradford Robotics Lab. His chance to prove himself comes when Sanford Scolex (Rupert Everett) breaks into the lab, steals a robotic foot, and kills Dr. Artemis Bradford (Rene Auberjonois). Brown promises Dr. Brenda Bradford (Joely Fisher)--the daughter of the murder victim--that the killer will be brought to justice. In the ensuing pursuit, however, Brown is nearly killed and Scolex looses a hand. With Brown rebuilt as the cyborg Inspector Gadget by Brenda, he can resume his pursuit of justice for his arch-rival, now called the Claw.
"Inspector Gadget" is very funny. The humor is generally lowbrow--slapstick comedy makes up the bulk of the humor. Though targeted towards children, adults will also laugh--jokes are nearly omnipresent.
The biggest plus is the cast. While most of the supporting cast is very good, the two stars--Matthew Broderick and Rupert Everett--make the whole movie work. Broderick is wonderful as Inspector Gadget. He plays the part with the same self-assured demeanor he applied to Ferris Bueller, but while Bueller was perfectly competent to skip school, Gadget is not up to detective work (and possibly not even hooky). That invincible air works beautifully. Keeping pace with Broderick all the way is Rupert Everett. Everett is absolutely perfect as The Claw. He is sinister throughout, perhaps a bit amusingly overwrought, and an excellent kids' villain. One noteworthy performance in the supporting cast is a cameo by Don Adams, who provided the voice of the cartoon Gadget and played Maxwell Smart, on whom Inspector Gadget is loosely based; he had one line, but it cracked me up.
There are two points where I have mixed feelings. First is Cheri Oteri, who played Mayor Wilson. Mayor Wilson is a small part, and she's supposed to be annoying; the problem is that Oteri has a voice that reminded me of fingernails on a chalkboard, and may have played it too annoyingly. The other is the movie's deviations from several of the cartoon's staples: for instance, the cartoon never really explained how Gadget got his gadgets, and in every episode, Gadget accidentally blew up the Chief Quimby with an exploding letter; in the movie, an explanation is present, but the exploding notes aren't.
There are also some outright problems. For one thing, D. L. Hughley as the Gadgetmobile simply goes overboard. The part is grating; part of this may be that the Gadgetmobile didn't talk in the cartoon, and part may be its clone-like similarity to the suit in "My Favorite Martian;" regardless, the car is annoying. The plot is thin and the theme is nearly non-existent--though since the "Inspector Gadget" cartoons weren't particularly profound, either, and since young kids are this comedy's main target audience, I wasn't expecting too much. Another problem--and this is the first movie where I thought this was a problem--is product placement; while I usually have no problems with product placements (because I'm in favor of commerce in general), the placements in "Inspector Gadget" are far more intrusive and annoying than in any other film I've seen. After paying $6.75 for a relatively short movie, overt advertising for Yahoo!, Coca-Cola, Disney, Skittles candy, and McDonald's distracted and detracted from the movie.
As a general rule, the movie is appropriate for children. The main potential problem is the violence--while most of the violence doesn't result in harm to people, there are two notable exceptions: the murder of the senior Dr. Bradford and the incident where Gadget and Claw are maimed. There's also a joke where the word "balls" has a double meaning--though the way it's structured, children who don't know the vulgar meaning will probably miss the double entendre.
You may also want to stay for the credits if you see "Inspector Gadget"--there are several jokes scattered throughout the credits. Most of these brief sequences are near the beginning of the credits, but there is a line and an altered logo at the very end.
In the end, I enjoyed "Inspector Gadget," but then, I grew up on the cartoon, so I was reliving a part of my childhood when I saw this film.
Title: "Inspector Gadget"
Release date: July 23, 1999
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 78 min.
Director: David Kellogg
Writers: Dana Olsen (story), Kerry Ehrin (story and screenplay), Zak Penn (screenplay), Audrey Wells (screenplay), based on the "Inspector Gadget" television cartoon series
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Gadget.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 7/29/1999 02:42:00 PM
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