In this 1997 cartoon style, slapstick comedy directed by Gore Verbinksi, (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Ring) and starring Lee Evans and Nathan Lane,tThey play Chalk n Cheese brothers who inherit a rundown house from their recently deceased father. When it is revealed that is worth a fortune, they plan to sell it at auction. They set to work to have it restored to it's former glory, but don't count on it having an unexpected occupant. That occupant being a mouse that they try to exterminate but predictably runs rings around them to comedic effect.
An enjoyable romp with colourful performances from an overall decent cast this is what happens when you put Laurel and Hardy, Tom & Jerry and Home Alone in a blender. True, while it isn't quite as consistently funny as I would have liked it to be, this still get's by on a fair amount of it's inffectious charm. Both Evans (who doesn't do a half bad U.S. accent) and Lane individually aren't in career best roles, but they make a fine comedic pairing as they deftly bounce off one another as the contrasting brothers. One's the facetious cynic, the other the more good natured sentimental monkey boy who let's his heart rule his head, and it works well.
Although fairly upbeat as it should be, it does retain something of a slightly dark edge and director Gore Verbinski ensures there's an air of futility as they try to rid their house of their rodent interloper. The direction for the most part is excellent although it does falter in an early comedy set-piece which is stilted in it's handling, and there's the odd occasion but not always where Evans does go a bit too over the top. He simply gurns too much during the slapstick sequences.
That said the scenes where they're hunting the mouse and some of the elaborate feats, as well as it scurrying within the walls of old house are wonderfully executed. The scenes where the siblings inevitably buy a cat to devour their target don't come off quite so well, as it's painfully clear most of the time that it's a fake animatronics or CGI cat which doesn't sit so well with the mouse which for the most part looks genuine. Never the less, it visually does look great with Verbinski creating a cartoon-1950's style world which our two leads inhabit, while the incidental music by Alan Silvestri who's worked on other movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Van Helsing compliments it's slapstick, comedic tone.
Yes, some of the of the slapstick isn't quite as sublime or as gut achingly funny as I would have liked . However there was at least one moment where I did find myself close to tears, thanks largely to the comical reactions of both Lane and Evans who do display their knack for physical comedy. I didn't even mind the presence of Christopher Walken as an overly dedicated (weirdly so I might interject) exterminator, who while he does his usual moody schtick, it still works well enough here. In the end, it's a shame this was a flop on it's theatrical release as while not great, it's still far from awful and superior to the passable if forgettable Baby Day's Out that came out several years before. Far from being a comedy classic still but fun escapist hi-jinks which will never the less left should leave a smile on your face.
An enjoyable romp with colourful performances from an overall decent cast this is what happens when you put Laurel and Hardy, Tom & Jerry and Home Alone in a blender. True, while it isn't quite as consistently funny as I would have liked it to be, this still get's by on a fair amount of it's inffectious charm. Both Evans (who doesn't do a half bad U.S. accent) and Lane individually aren't in career best roles, but they make a fine comedic pairing as they deftly bounce off one another as the contrasting brothers. One's the facetious cynic, the other the more good natured sentimental monkey boy who let's his heart rule his head, and it works well.
Although fairly upbeat as it should be, it does retain something of a slightly dark edge and director Gore Verbinski ensures there's an air of futility as they try to rid their house of their rodent interloper. The direction for the most part is excellent although it does falter in an early comedy set-piece which is stilted in it's handling, and there's the odd occasion but not always where Evans does go a bit too over the top. He simply gurns too much during the slapstick sequences.
That said the scenes where they're hunting the mouse and some of the elaborate feats, as well as it scurrying within the walls of old house are wonderfully executed. The scenes where the siblings inevitably buy a cat to devour their target don't come off quite so well, as it's painfully clear most of the time that it's a fake animatronics or CGI cat which doesn't sit so well with the mouse which for the most part looks genuine. Never the less, it visually does look great with Verbinski creating a cartoon-1950's style world which our two leads inhabit, while the incidental music by Alan Silvestri who's worked on other movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Van Helsing compliments it's slapstick, comedic tone.
Yes, some of the of the slapstick isn't quite as sublime or as gut achingly funny as I would have liked . However there was at least one moment where I did find myself close to tears, thanks largely to the comical reactions of both Lane and Evans who do display their knack for physical comedy. I didn't even mind the presence of Christopher Walken as an overly dedicated (weirdly so I might interject) exterminator, who while he does his usual moody schtick, it still works well enough here. In the end, it's a shame this was a flop on it's theatrical release as while not great, it's still far from awful and superior to the passable if forgettable Baby Day's Out that came out several years before. Far from being a comedy classic still but fun escapist hi-jinks which will never the less left should leave a smile on your face.