FLIPPER
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 4.0 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 5/17/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: PG (Nothing Offensive) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Paul Hogan, Elijah Wood, Chelsea Field, Jonathan Banks, Isaac Hayes, Jessica Wesson, Jason Fuchs Director: Alan Shapiro Producers: Perry Katz and James J. McNamara Screenplay: Alan Shapiro Cinematography: Bill Butler Music: Joel McNeely U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
Saving dolphins is good. Dumping toxic waste in the ocean is bad. Those are the two fundamental messages hammered home by the latest lamebrained incarnation of FLIPPER, a movie that has a lot of good intentions, but very little else. This most recent in the series of neverending variations on the LASSIE storyline might serve as adequate entertainment for undiscriminating children, but, for adults, it's a gargantuan waste of time and money.
Once, when CROCODILE DUNDEE topped the box office charts, Paul Hogan was as hot as could be. Now, ten years and several failed pictures later, his star has fallen so far that the best he can do is play second fiddle to a dolphin. Unhappily for the Australian star, his performance here isn't likely to appreciably increase his stock. FLIPPER is bad, and Hogan certainly doesn't redeem the film.
Based on the 1963 movie which spawned a television series, FLIPPER has all the formula ingredients that saturate '90s family films. It's a cloying mixture that threatens a cuteness overdose. There isn't a moment of originality in this movie, which follows a routine path from start to finish. Like the whale in the far better FREE WILLY, the animal steals the show.
Unfortunately, Flipper doesn't have a whole lot to do except swim around and execute leaps. The two-legged landlubbers get most of the screen time, and they're pretty uninteresting. There's Sandy Ricks (NORTH's Elijah Wood), the son of a broken marriage who's sent to spend a summer in the Florida Keys living with his uncle, Porter (Hogan). Initially, the two don't get along well -- Sandy is surly and doesn't take kindly to his uncle's lessons of responsibility. Then Flipper shows up, giving Sandy something to care about other than himself. The dolphin also gets him a girlfriend and helps uncover the dastardly deep sea waste dumping of a nasty fisherman (Jonathan Banks).
About the only worthwhile thing FLIPPER offers is some decent underwater photography, but those in search of these kinds of marine views would do better checking out a National Geographic special on PBS. The film is intended to appeal to the under-12 crowd, but I have a hard time recommending it even for them. FLIPPER is calculated, market- driven entertainment -- recycled formulas staking out the early summer family film niche in hopes of making money. With better children's fare on the way, including the inevitable new animated feature from Disney, it's a good idea to throw this one back.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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