"MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY" (2007) (Rowan Atkinson, Max Baldry) (G) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Minor *Moderate None Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate *None None None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor None Moderate Moderate Mild QUICK TAKE: Comedy: The irrepressibly annoying Mr. bean goes on vacation to the South of France, his journey including assorted encounters and errors in judgment, including his new friendship with a boy and a young actress. PLOT: Mr. Bean (ROWAN ATKINSON) wins a church raffle for a vacation in the South of France. He is determined to enjoy and remember his adventure, away from the perpetual rain of London, and so he brings along a digital video camera, which he uses to tape everything. His adventures are extremely episodic. In Paris, he eats in a fancy restaurant and gets on a train, where he meets a young boy, Stepan (MAX BALDRY), whose father Emil (KAREL RODEN) is a famous film director. They're all on their way to Cannes, but dad misses the train (owing to inadvertent shenanigans by Bean) and Bean takes it upon himself to look after the boy. When they are briefly separated, Bean meets Sabine (EMMA de CAUNES), a young actress who hopes to make her international debut in a film at the Festival. They rediscover Stepan at a truck stop (he has been traveling with a van full of very nice and shaggy musicians), then make their way to Cannes, where Stepan hopes to catch up with his father. More hijinks at the Festival include Sabine realizing that her director, Carson Clay (WILLEM DAFOE) has cut her scene from his film, so it can focus on him, and only him. To help her, Bean hooks up his video camera to the projector and shows the audience beautiful, candid shots of Sabine. Stepan finds Emil, Sabine is a star, Carson accepts the changes in his film, and Bean finally makes it to the beach. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they like slow-moving slapstick and silly physical humor, they might, but the last Mr. Bean movie released in the U.S. was 10 years ago. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G Presumably for not containing material to warrant a higher rating (although the film originally was rated PG and was re-rated down to a G). CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ROWAN ATKINSON is Mr. Bean, still socially inept, here trying to reach the beach. He makes all sorts of silly face, gestures and such that some kids may want to imitate. MAX BALDRY is Stepan, a boy Mr. Bean meets on the train to Cannes. EMMA de CAUNES is Sabine, an actress who gives Mr. Bean and Stepan a ride to Cannes. KAREL RODEN is Emil, Stepan's film director father. WILLEM DAFOE plays Carson Clay, a self-absorbed film director who tangles with Mr. Bean. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this G-rated comedy. A few colorful phrases are present, as is the brief and somewhat distant sight of some women in standard swimwear. The main character makes strange faces, noises, and gestures that may entertain younger children and/or entice them to imitate some or all of that. A miscellaneous person appears intoxicated, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, all played for comedy. That also holds true for the violence, which includes slapstick style material, the striking of or other physical contact with others, and an accidental explosion that presumably injures a few people. Some gross humor occurs, mainly concerning the consumption of seafood, while some tense family material is present, as are some thematic elements, including that regarding a young boy traveling with an older and peculiar stranger. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, some of that occurs, as Bean records his adventures on his camcorder, sometimes juggled or dropped. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Wine appears on the table at a fancy French restaurant where Bean dines. Bean sees a homeless man who appears drunk and carries a bottle as he approaches Stepan, who is sitting on a bench (Bean shoes the man away). A cell phone is dropped in a drink. BLOOD/GORE Bean eats oysters and shrimp-looking shellfish, loudly and in an especially grotesque manner. Bean dislikes the oysters, so pretends to eat them, and then slops his napkin full of oysters into a neighboring diner's purse (she screams off screen when she discovers the mess). A brief moment in a funeral home shows a body in a coffin. We see a man at a urinal, his back to the camera (he drops his cell phone in the urinal). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE All of the following is played for comedy. Bean spills coffee on a sleeping train rider's laptop. He scoops off the foam then scurries away, leaving the man to yell at another passenger for ruining his computer. When the fight continues off the train and police come to take the two men away, Bean videotapes it as if he has nothing to do with it. Bean takes another man's cab, by accident, but ends up in the wrong location. He then must find his way back to where he wants to be, with a compass and self-centered determination (he causes traffic to screech, walks on tables in a park, and walks through film director Carson Clay's "photo op" with the press, annoying Carson). Bean dislikes the oysters, so pretends to eat them, and then slops his napkin full of oysters into a neighboring diner's purse (she screams off screen when she discovers the mess). Bean and Stepan hide from the train conductor, looking for tickets they don't have, and the conductor kicks them off. Some viewers might not like the thought of the boy traveling alone with the much older and decidedly strange adult Bean. Stepan pretends to cry in front of a woman, so she gives him coins for the phone. When Bean tries the same trick, she huffs away. Train station security people watch the scene, then chase Bean and Stepan away. To get money for food, Stepan distracts a CD vendor while Bean moves his speakers to a public spot; Bean then lip-syncs and/or dances to whatever tunes are played, including operatic "O mio babbino caro" (Stepan plays the dead child, Bean mourns, and the crowd applauds). When Bean lose his bus ticket to Cannes, he follows a chicken that has it stuck to its foot. He steals a bicycle to follow a truck carrying the chicken, and then catches a brief tow on another car. Bean hitchhikes, and when a man on a slow scooter stops for him, Bean steals his scooter. The man then walks fast enough to stop him and throws him off the scooter. Bean, seeing that Sabine is sad that Carson has cut her scene, goes to the projection booth and uploads his video-recording of her, all smiles and cuteness. The audience, who hated Carson's self-important film, cheers her scenes. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns and rifles appear on the set of a yogurt commercial, which Sabine is performing for Carson Clay. Fake Nazi soldiers carry guns and drive tanks through the fake French street, and fake explosions go off. Bean is mistaken for an actor, given a Nazi uniform, so he carries a gun as well. It's all faked, though an errant explosion caused by Bean sends two men (including Carson) to the hospital (indicated by an ambulance). IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "What the heck is he doing?" and "So what kind of idiot are you?" Bean makes annoying funny faces at Stepan and in other various circumstances, and that and the various bits of physical comedy might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Bean eats oysters and shrimp-looking shellfish, loudly and in an especially grotesque manner. Bean dislikes the oysters, so pretends to eat them, and then slops his napkin full of oysters into a neighboring diner's purse (she screams off screen when she discovers the mess). Stepan copies Bean's movements as they sit on a bench at a train station (crossing his legs, making faces, making sounds). Happy to see Bean, Stepan slaps him; then all the musicians he's been traveling with slap Bean, one after the other, before they start dancing and singing. Bean, trying out phone numbers, calls a man about to jump off a bridge. When the call is not his girlfriend, the man jumps (you see from the bridge, a long fall). Bean goosesteps in his Nazi soldier uniform. Bean puts toothpicks in his eyes to keep from falling asleep while driving. Bean and Stepan dress in wigs and dresses to sneak into the Cannes Film Festival. JUMP SCENES None, although when the dog barks at Bean when he's bicycling after the truck, it is sudden and startling. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY Sabine kisses Bean's cheek. Sunbathers in swimsuits appear on the beach at Cannes (some bikinis, in long shots). SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Stepan sees that his father is running outside the train from Paris to Cannes, as he has been delayed boarding by helping Bean with his video camera. TV news reports that Bean has "kidnapped" Stepan. Emil believes Bean has kidnapped Stepan when they both arrive in Cannes, until the boy tells him otherwise. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Some viewers might not like the thought of the boy traveling alone with the much older and decidedly strange adult Bean. Self-important filmmakers and films. Movies as commercial product versus art. Physical comedy's appeal. Bean's stubborn refusal to behave like other people. Emil's appearance at the Cannes Film Festival while he thinks his son has been kidnapped (why isn't he working with police to find Stepan?). Sabine's decision to give the hitchhiker Bean a ride. VIOLENCE All of the following is played for laughs. There's brief slapping and pushing between two passengers whose disagreement over a ruined laptop is really Bean's fault. Bean trips over Emil's coffee cup. Bean tries to soothe Stepan, angry that his father missed the train, by making funny faces, and Stepan slaps him, hard. A conductor kicks Bean and Stepan off train, and they fly out the door to the sidewalk. Bean leaves a bike on the road and it's flattened by a tank (he sees this on his video camera, which taped the accident). Bean hitchhikes, and when a man on a slow scooter stops for him, Bean steals his scooter. The man then walks fast enough to stop him and throws him off the scooter. A set for a yogurt commercial features tanks, Nazi soldiers with guns, and explosions. When Bean is mistaken for an actor and put in a Nazi uniform, he disturbs an electrical circuit, leading to an accidental explosion. No bodies are thrown, but two hats are, and an ambulance siren signals injuries, as Bean leaves the scene with a plume of smoke behind him, coming from the commercial set. Bean is locked in a wooden shack by the side of the road. He manages to loosen it from the ground and walks it to the road, where -- off screen -- it is hit by a truck. Pieces of wood fly across the screen and Bean is free, and walking, unharmed. Happy to see Bean, Stepan slaps him; then all the musicians he's been traveling with slap Bean, one after the other, before they start dancing and singing. Bean, trying out phone numbers, calls a man about to jump off a bridge. When the call is not his girlfriend, the man jumps (you see from the bridge, a long fall). Bean, in drag, hits a security guard with his purse. Security guards rush to get Bean out of the projection booth, pounding on the door. Reviewed August 18, 2007 / Posted August 24, 2007

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