Mouse Hunt (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Dreamworks)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Written by Adam Rifkin
Cast Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Christopher Walken, Vicki Lewis,
Eric Christmas, Maury Chaykin
MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 97 minutes
Reviewed at The Carmike 7, Raleigh, NC (17DEC97)
==
Though closer to consistently amusing than non-stop, fall-down fun- ny, the first family film from Dreamworks is a slight delight. Nathan Lane and British comic Lee Evans play a pair of bickering, bumbling brothers, trying to rid a prized old mansion of a mouse. A very *smart* mouse. Slapstick ensues (vacuum versus sewage line, lit match versus natural gas, etc.), but not nearly as much as the ads suggest. (Nor as hilarious as expected, either. Have such shenanigans become too common- place, after three HOME ALONE movies?) Significant screen time is also devoted to the rodent's POV, in several FX-intensive sequences set in- side the walls of this old house. Younger kids *may* grow restless dur- ing the film's talkier bits, such as the brothers' ongoing efforts to sell the ancient (but fully functioning) string factory that they also inherited from their recently deceased father (William Hickey, looking delightfully decrepit in his final screen role). That said, whatever the wee ones miss in dialogue, the exceptional visuals should still keep them spellbound. (My favorite, next to the sight of Lane's exaggerated eyebrows, is the one-two punch of Phedon Papamichael's dark photography and Linda DeScenna's goofy-Gothic production design. We're talkin' Tim Burton territory, here.) And, parents, be forewarned about the City Pound scenes, where Laurel and Hardy look to snatch "one mean pussy." After the kids see *those* conditions, you'll never be able to get rid of another pet again. Get me my Gouda.
Grade: B-
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
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