Bicentennial Man (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com. Member: Online Film Critics Society
Starring Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill. Directed by Chris Columbus. Rated PG.
Chris Columbus is master of melodrama, sire of schmaltz and czar of cheapness. His films are notorious sentimental hanky-fests. Stepmom, in particular, comes to mind, but each of his films, from Mrs. Doubtfire to Home Alone have those infamous moments of ultra-sentimental emotion. Many have labeled Columbus's movies as cheap and false, and they may be right, but his new one, Bicentennial Man is different. Somehow, the emotion in this one is genuine and the movie works: as a tearjerker, as family entertainment and as a comedy.
Robin Williams, who hasn't done an all-out comedy since the abominable Flubber and hasn't made a good one since Columbus's Nine Months, stars here as Andrew, a domestic robot owned by a kindly 2005 family. The head of the family (Sam Neill), known only as "Sir" since that's what Andrew calls him, begins to notice something unique about his household appliance. He takes Andrew to his parent company which wants to "correct the defect." They go away and Sir takes on Andrew's education himself, feeling the responsibility to help the robot grow to bigger and better things.
Andrew himself has grown fond of Sir's youngest daughter, "Little Miss," who befriends him. Their relationship develops for fifteen years until Andrew, now officially an enlightened robot (as well as an expert clock-maker), asks for his freedom. Sir gets PO-ed at Andrew's alleged ungratefulness and, in essense, kicks him out, with a self- righteous "You now have your freedom." So Andrew goes off and builds a house of his own on the oceanside, where Little Miss can come to visit him as often as she likes.
After Sir's death, Andrew feels something missing from his "life," so he goes on a twenty year journey to seek out other robots like him. What he finds is a robot scientist (the dependable Oliver Platt) who helps him take on human form. But can he actually become a human and obtain all the privileges that go with it, like the ability to marry a human?
Bicentennial Man was based on a pair of short stories by renowned sci- fi writer Isaac Asimov but it was, of course, altered to be more crowd- pleasing and mainstream. The result is hardly ground-breaking cinema, but it's watchable, touching, profound and sometimes downright allegorical. Granted, it occasionally has over-sentimental and cloying moments Chris Columbus-style, but they feel marginally genuine: things real people might say or do. I'm still not sold on Columbus's often condescending style of filmmaking, but at least he's heading in the right direction.
I liked Robin Williams here too; his purpose, for once, isn't sucking up to the audience. His performance is quirky, funny and sincere; not his best, but a lot of fun to watch. I also enjoyed Oliver Platt, whose hilarious deadpan delivery is impossible to get tired of. This isn't an actors' movie: the performances are often overshadowed by the flashy, though not spectacular special effects. The animatronics and CGI used to create the robot are just as smooth and aesthetically flawless as the performances. This is, after all, a 100 million dollar movie: the A- List stars are here, but they are not alone.
There is, of course, a final "inspirational" speech and it's in a courtroom, of sorts. I dread that family movie staple. But in Bicentennial Man it is kept concise and to the point -- definitely a plus. Most importantly, though, the speech doesn't make you cringe. It actually means something. It's well-written and well-delivered. It doesn't always follow the formula.
As some critics have pointed out, this plot has been done before, and sometimes better, on the tv series Star Trek: The Next Generation, where "Data," an android, was on a constant quest to become as human as possible. True, there are similarities -- ah hell, it's exactly the same thing -- but it's unfair to penalize Bicentennial Man for it. There was more than enough room for two falling meteor flicks (Deep Impact and Armageddon) as well as two computer-animated movies about ants (Antz and A Bug's Life) all in the same year, so why cripe about something that's not nearly as conspicuous?
A couple of final quibbles: I'm now offering a substantial reward for James Horner's severed head on a stick. The whole movie, I was wishing he would shut up. The Oscar-winning composer's music here is god-awful, with "tender" violin compositions playing ceaselessly in the background, telling us exactly how to feel about the events on screen. Also, at 2 hours 11 minutes, Bicentennial Man is a little on the long side, but then again with the streak of 3-hour-plus Oscar contenders being released in these next few months, I guess I shouldn't complain.
Bicentennial Man is well-worth a look this holiday season, especially if your other choice is something like Anna and the King which, I hope, leaves theaters in a hurry. This isn't a perfect movie, but it entertains and touches the heart, and it's certainly a big step up from Patch Adams.
Grade: B
©1999 Eugene Novikov
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