THE FLINTSTONES
A film review by Jon A. Webb
Copyright 1994 Jon A. Webb
THE FLINTSTONES is Spielberg's trompe l'oeil production of the Hanna-Barbara cartoon series, and it is much better than the original. The artistic trick here is to combine the technical wizardry of JURASSIC PARK with a serious attempt to match the style of the cartoon series as much as possible. Thus we have John Goodman looking remarkably like Fred, Rosie O'Donnell giggling just like Betty, and live-action versions of all the familiar opening and closing scenes from the cartoon. You're probably aware of this if you've watched any media in the last few weeks, because of all the commercial tie-ins.
Comparing this film with, say, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, the latter is much the superior work. It had a core point (acceptance of weirdness) that just isn't present here. Arguable, the Addams family film had more to work with, but a lot of what was in the film was an elaboration of the core philosophy from the television series. The difference is, here only the style of the series has been elaborated, and the core meaning of the work is still empty and shallow. In the Addams family films, particularly the sequel, the ideas take off in the more rich environment of film, and say something new.
I think that I must be getting a little tired of Spielberg's production values, since they seem to be so perfectly respected here, with every possible joke about the mixture of modern and prehistoric times made, and made well, and I still found the film a little dull. The film just never seems to take off. Of course, neither did the cartoon series--it was definitely second-rate stuff--but here you also have the certain knowledge that every possible commercial angle of this artistic work will be explored.
The style of the film, as I implied above, is very consistent, and a great elaboration of the cartoon series. The art direction and script are great, and full of all sorts of jokes about prehistoric suburban life. The direction is great in reconstructing the style and feeling of the original as much as possible.
Goodman is great as Fred, and Rosie O'Donnell is a standout as Betty. She brings a kind of nervous, luscious sensuality to the role. I thought Rick Moranis delivered a little less than he should have as Barney, and Elizabeth Perkins just disappeared into her roles as Wilma: she wasn't asked to do much, but she didn't do anything extra either. I found Kyle MacLachlan's performance as the evil Yuppie a disappointment; I'd like to see him really connect with a role as he did with Lynch, but this isn't it.
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