PAULIE (DreamWorks) Starring: voice of Jay Mohr, Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davison, Hallie Kate Eisenberg. Screenplay: Laurie Craig. Producers: Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn, Allison Lyon Segan. Director: John Roberts. MPAA Rating: PG (mild profanity, adult humor) Running Time: 90 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Even before I was a film critic, I was a studio marketing executive's worst nightmare. The standard for selling films has long been to provide an easy frame of reference for the potential viewer, some comparison to a well-known and well-liked predecessor to latch on to. "From the director of INDEPENDENCE DAY" one ad might trumpet, while another features a critical comment that the film is "the best romance since GHOST." Such tactics have long left me skeptical, fearing yet another bandwagon-riding copycat rather than looking forward to something with enough substance or style to stand on its own.
In my heart, I know PAULIE is an attempt to cash in on the family film success of recent talking animal pictures like BABE and HOMEWARD BOUND. Like BABE, Paulie features a friendly, stubbornly loyal animal as its protagonist, this one a smart-aleck parrot named Paulie (voice of Jay Mohr); like HOMEWARD BOUND, it sends the talking animal on a long journey to find his owner. If your first instinct is to think of PAULIE as a dopey rip-off, be prepared for a pleasant surprise. PAULIE may never reach the enchanting heights of BABE, but it's consistently charming in its own low-key way.
PAULIE begins at the ending, in an animal research facility where gentle immigrant janitor Misha (Tony Shalhoub) is amazed to find a babbling, mango-loving bird caged in the basement. Paulie then proceeds to tell Misha a strange and wondrous flashback tale: his separation from Marie (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), the little girl who loves him; a friendship with a kindly widow (Gena Rowlands); a stint entertaining the customers of a mobile taco stand owner (Cheech Marin); and eventually a life of crime assisting a small-time hustler (also played by Jay Mohr). Though the adventures are basic and sometimes silly, they are accompanied by lessons gently taught. Paulie learns about death, about the consequences of stealing, about the virtue of politeness, and about the importance of persistence in pursuing one's dream. Simple stuff, to be sure, but more edifying family fare than a dozen recent Disney films put together.
More generally, PAULIE is a family film which doesn't begin with the assumption that young audiences respond only to stupidity. With the exception of a token instance of flatulence humor and a few coarse insults, scripter Laurie Craig keeps the gags above the belt, opting to use animal tricks and verbal sparring for amusement. Jay Mohr's Paulie is an obvious hommage to Buddy Hackett (obvious enough that Hackett shows up in a cameo), but he creates just enough feisty personality to make the bird's story matter without making him annoying. PAULIE also features an unusually strong cast, headed by a grandmotherly Rowlands and the always appealing Shalhoub (adding a Russian accent to his Nationality of the Week repertoire). This is one feature parents and kids will be able to sit through together with smiles on every face.
It would be easy to embrace PAULIE excessively simply because it doesn't crash into a pile of singed green feathers the way you might expect. In fact, it's hardly a classic-in-the-making. The episodic flow of the narrative sends Paulie jumping to his next new pal just as we've gotten interested in the last, and takes off on odd tangets involving a flirtatious female parrot (voiced by Tia Texada, who also plays Mohr's girlfriend in human form) and tentative swipes at animal testing. Most disappointing of all is a conclusion which leaves us with an odd romantic pairing as its happy ending. It's an uneven effort, but it's satisfying to note that it's actually an _effort_. PAULIE could have cruised along on talking animals and foolishness; instead, it tells a story of friendship and good manners with a few sharp jokes. How nice to find a fun bit of entertainment, and not just "the best talking animal movie since BABE."
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 PAULIE-glotisms: 6.
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