Mr. Bean's Holiday

Mr. Bean's Holiday; rated G
PopcornScale Rating: Buttered Popcorn

It has been said that the mark of a great film is being just has powerful, or just as comedic, with the volume off. If we are to use this criteria, Mr. Bean's Holiday is certainly a great film, as Mr.Bean hardly ever talks throughout the entire film. An Oscar winner it is not, but there is something inspired in its comedic sketches - it is family-friendly without patronizing children. Rowan Atkinson plays Mr. Bean, something of a lovable oblivious buffoon. He has won a raffle to vacation in Cannes, France, and as he begins in journey, camcorder in hand, he asks a man getting on a train to film him for a moment, causing him to miss his train and become separated from his son. This begins a refreshingly funny journey that you will just have to see for yourself. There is one thing that must be noted; Mr. Bean presents to us a brilliant irony. On one hand, he is very socially inept, that is part of his charm, though he could be called autistic. And yet, in one of the best scenes in the film, Mr. Bean is at the Cannes Film Festival. A filmmaker is broadcasting a dreary film with lofty "deep" dialogue while he is on screen. Everyone is bored to death, but when Mr. Bean's video diary is broadcasted instead (how this happens, you'll have to watch and see), it fits beautifully with the dialogue and one gets a sense of Mr. Bean's strange beauty. Of course, the filmmaker gets the credit, and Mr. Bean does not mind, he is happy to have reached the beach that he won a raffle to. My entire family enjoyed this film, including my grandma who usually doesn't care for English-language movies. If you're in the mood for light-hearted, family-friendly comedy that will still make you laugh your socks off, watch Mr. Bean's Holiday, now playing on DISH OnDemand, and at your local Blockbuster movie rental store.