INSPECTOR GADGET
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: ** out of ****
About fifteen years ago, a cartoon called "Inspector Gadget" premiered on American television featuring the voice of "Get Smart" star Don Adams as a bumbling police detective with the unique characteristic of being robotic. Inspector Gadget did not have the self confidence of the Six Million Dollar Man, nor the icy-cool visage of Robocop, but instead was just an inept human being who happened to be partly mechanical and loaded with a whole bunch of neat little devices. Most of his detective work was actually conducted by his niece, Penny, and her dog, Brain, both of whom constantly accompanied or followed Gadget to make sure that he stayed out of too much trouble.
Today we're given David Kellogg's INSPECTOR GADGET, starring the ever-youthful Matthew Broderick as the title character. Gadget starts out as John Brown, a security guard for a robotics research firm run by Brenda (Joely Fisher) and her father (Rene Auberjonois). The firm is on the verge of completing work on a robotic prosthetic foot which could be remotely controlled by the brainwaves of a human operator, when the greedy tycoon Sanford Scolex (Rupert Everett) breaks into the firm's lab, stealing the foot and killing Brenda's father in the process. Brown jumps into his Chevette and pursues Scolex, only to be blown up by one of Scolex's innovative and fearsome weapons, an explosive cigar. As a result of the explosion, however, Brown's bowling ball, which happened to be in the Chevette, flies into the air and lands on Scolex's hand. Scolex gets his hand replaced by a mechanical claw, and renames himself, well, Claw. Meanwhile, Brenda uses all of her robotic wizardry to remake Brown, and Inspector Gadget is born. When Claw finds out about this mechanical wonder, however, he becomes bent upon stealing the new technology to build an army of Gadgets he can sell off to countries around the world.
INSPECTOR GADGET is a movie intended for kids, and on that level it works pretty well. It's got an uncomplicated plot, a lot of slapstick comedy, and simple jokes. Children will love it, but their parent guardians may have a slightly less enjoyable experience. First of all, edits made after the trailers went to theaters serve to confuse the attentive viewer by leaving out explanatory scenes. For example, Gadget goes to some kind of mayoral ball, but we have no idea why. It also seems that attendees are not surprised in the least that this mechanical man is dancing in their midst. Why? Because the scene showing that the ball was meant to debut Inspector Gadget was cut completely. I assume this missing scene was also where we get to see why Police Chief Quimby (Dabney Coleman) harbors so much animosity for his newest member of the force, since it's never explained satisfactorily anywhere else in the film. I really have to wonder why these edits were made in the first place, as the film runs short at about eighty minutes anyway.
Unlike the animated series, Penny (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Brain are relegated to what amounts to barely supporting roles. In fact, they seem more of an afterthought homage to the original cartoon, since their inclusion in the film is so superfluous that they could have been left out altogether. Too bad, as it would've been hilarious to see a live action Brain following Gadget around and keeping him safe. Of course, they'd have to put that "No animals were harmed...." disclaimer in big, bold letters at the end of the movie, as Brain was frequently on the receiving end of exploding parcels and the like which he intercepted before they reached Gadget. It would seem that in not exploring this possibility, the filmmakers passed up a great opportunity for comedy and development of other characters (even if one is a dog).
Speaking of the original show, you should know that it had no connection to Disney whatsoever. You wouldn't think so, the way the live-action film version of the lovable cartoon is marketed in all venues as "Disney's" INSPECTOR GADGET. But there it is. To be fair, the possessive is more than mere credit grabbing. Actually, the film has that touch that plagues most of Disney's recent non-cartoon features - just look at films like THE BIG GREEN, 101 DALMATIANS, or THAT DARN CAT (with Christina Ricci, not Dean Jones), and you'll see a certain quality of, oh, we'll call it goofy filmmaking (no reference to the man-dog-thing intended). INSPECTOR GADGET is laden with weird sound effects that come out of nowhere for the sole reason of pushing a scene over the edge and making it, well, goofy. For example, a billboard advertising the internet search engine Yahoo! falls on someone, and as we see the logo come tumbling over, we hear the sound effect of someone yelling, "Yahoo!" Stuff like that occurs throughout the film, and my reaction was that watching it was like watching an episode of "Bill Nye, The Science Guy," which relentlessly uses the same effects technique. My girlfriend, by the way, very astutely pointed out that "Bill Nye" is also produced by Disney. Will someone please give us a break? Well, at least the billboard wasn't plugging the internet's Go Network, which everything associated with Disney is doing these days.
Shameless product placements also abound throughout the film, most noticeably in Gadget's gadgetmobile. Built right into the car's console are buttons which, while never used, seem to dispense Coca-Cola, Sprite, Skittles, M&M's, and a couple of other things which we're supposed to go out any buy once the movie's over. By the way, the car also talks. It's one of those ploys for the kids which adults will find interminable, since the car doesn't say anything funny at all, not even when it says, "You have to use your seat belt. This is a Disney movie." It only reminded me of the painfully obvious.
Broderick actually does a pretty decent job filling the shoes of the cartoon hero, although the screenplay doesn't require a whole lot of the otherwise talented actor. Unfortunately, the simplistic script seems to almost visibly constrain the rest of the movie's players. I so much wanted Rupert Everett to have some juicy lines with which he could take his character over the top. He chews scenery, but it's more like a nibble here and there, rather than the voracious feeding frenzy I was hoping for. Meanwhile, Joely Fischer's Brenda is entirely forgettable. As I write this review, I can't even recall a line she had in the whole film. The thing is, I can't fault her because she displays a great acting range in a sequence where she plays a dual role, and evidently could have really done a lot more with Brenda if the script had only allowed it. In the supporting cast, Dabney Coleman has literally nothing to do, but is still cast well as Quimby because he actually looks like the cartoon character. Andy Dick as one of Claw's scientists and Cheri Oteri as the mayor basically play the roles they play on television. As Sykes, Claw's minion, actor Michael G. Hagerty, supporting player in so many films and various television episodes, stretches his acting range by allowing us to see him for once without his mustache. Wow.
But again, this film is for the kids anyway, and it's a lot of good, clean fun for them, if not so much for you. Just remember that: It's not for you. In other words, don't go into the theater expecting a reward for your years of watching the cartoon. That will only engender the kind of animosity you now have for George Lucas in making STAR WARS EPISODE ONE: THE PHANTOM MENACE. And that's not very productive, now is it?
Review posted July 27, 1999
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