INSPECTOR GADGET A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
A thumb that turns into a cigarette lighter. That's about as funny as INSPECTOR GADGET ever gets. Disney's new live-action movie pins all of its hopes for laughter on such sight gags.
As the gadget-laden hero, Inspector Gadget, poor Matthew Broderick is stuck yet again in a movie in which he delivers an awkward performance in an underwritten role. Broderick invests little emotional energy in the part of a guy whose reconstructed body is a collection of gadgets and gizmos.
The writing credits go to a committee of four (Dana Olsen, Kerry Ehrin, Zak Penn and Audrey Wells). The quality of a script is usually inversely proportional to the number of writers, and this screenplay is no exception. The dialog packs no punch whatsoever, leaving the physical comedy alone to carry the picture.
The one-joke movie consists of having Inspector Gadget, a kid's version of RoboCop, demonstrating all of his hardware. The comedy comes from the way the mechanisms frequently go awry, causing such "hilarious" mistakes as various parts of his body crashing through ceilings and walls. The result is a movie with a laugh count of maybe one or two small chuckles.
As written, was the project doomed? Perhaps not. Consider, for a minute, what it might have become with Brendan Fraser. He throws himself heart and soul into his every part. Willing to risk looking completely ridiculous, Fraser usually dazzles us with his comedic bravado. Broderick, on the other hand, never convinces us he even wants to be on the set.
Still, even the usually reliable Rupert Everett, who plays the movie's villain, Claw, doesn't show much spark in his acting.
There is one undeniably enjoyable part of the production. It doesn't last long.
INSPECTOR GADGET runs 1:20. It is rated PG for wacky violence/action, language and innuendo and would be fine for kids of all ages.
My son Jeffrey, age 10, gave the movie ** 1/2, complaining that it didn't have enough action, comedy or mystery. His buddy Nickolas, age 10, gave the film ***. He thought the movie needed more action, but he really liked the talking car in it.
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