102 Dalmatians (2000) 2 stars out of 4. Starring Glenn Close, Gerard DePardieu, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny and Ben Crompton. Screenplay by Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan and Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Story by Buckley and Regan. Directed by Kevin Lima.
102 Dalmatians is a so-so sequel to a so-so comedy.
More a rehash of the original, 102 Dalmatians finds the evil Cruella DeVil still obsessing over those adorable doggies as she schemes to capture them to use their pelts for a new coat ó plus hood.
The film is rather slow in the beginning, and doesnít really pick up speed until the break-neck, cartoonish finale in which the Dalmatians give Cruella her comeuppance.
However, this is a film for the little ones, who will enjoy the animal antics as well as Glenn Closeís over-the-top, slapstick performance as Cruella.
Most of the characters are bland and the story and situations are merely passable. Even the various animals, with one exception, lack any real personality.
Only Waddlesworth, a parrot who thinks heís a dog, shows any spark, and that is because he is voiced by the wonderful Eric Idle.
102 Dalmatians is not a bad movie. Itís just fails to offer anything extraordinary.
Close is divinely wicked and witchlike in her outlandish manner and color costumes. Of course she steals the show. In fact, the movie just founders when she is off screen.
The white-bread young lovers, Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd) and Chloe (Alice Evans), are as charismatic as a presidential wannabe. They are kind of dull, and we really donít care a whit about them.
Gerard Depardieu is hammy as the evil Le Pelt, cohort of Cruella. After making so many American movies, his English remains as fractured as Pepe LePewís.
Close, of course, earns the good sport award for enduring the indignities heaped upon Cruella, including being dumped in vats of cake mix and baked in an oven. Through it all, she keeps a twinkle in her eye, and her tongue rooted in her cheek.
Of the Dalmatians, only the puppy Oddball stands out, and that is because he is spotless, and spends most of the movie trying to rectify that situation.
The movie does have a couple of clever moments. While Kevin and Chloe are out on a date, the dogs decide to watch a video and choose Lady and the Tramp. Director Kevin Lima ó one of the directors of last yearís animated hit, Tarzan ó then cuts back and forth between the famous dining scene in the cartoon and Kevin and Chloe dining at an Italian restaurant. It is a clever bit, one of the few the film offers.
102 Dalmatians is harmless. Itís a simplistic, cartoonish film definitely aimed at the younger set.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier. in Lafayette, IN He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com. For more of Bloom's reviews, go to golafayette at www.jconline.com Reviews by Bob Bloom also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database site: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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