Bean, also known as Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie or Mr. Bean: The Movie is a 1997 feature film based on the television series Mr. Bean. It stars Rowan Atkinson in the title role and Peter MacNicol. It was directed by Mel Smith. The film used many of the ideas and skits from the original television series.
Plot
Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is a security guard at the Royal National Gallery in London, though his reputation for sleeping on the job compels the board of directors to attempt to fire him, though they are thwarted by the chairman (Sir John Mills) who is sympathetic with him. In order to rid themselves of Bean, the board send him to Los Angeles to represent them at the unveiling of the portrait Whistler's Mother. The famous painting has been purchased for $50 million by the fictional Grierson Art Gallery with a grant from General Newton (Burt Reynolds). Bean's visit is arranged by the gallery's curator, David Langley (Peter MacNicol), who, impressed with the National Gallery's false profile of "Dr. Bean", agrees to accommodate Bean in his house for two months, much to the chagrin of his wife Allison (Pamela Reed), son Kevin (Andrew Lawrence) and daughter Jennifer (Tricia Vessey), who subsequently leave for Allison's mother's house.
After some initial mishaps with the airport police and leaving the gallery's owner, Mr. Grierson (Harris Yulin) slightly doubtful about Bean's intelligence after meeting him in person, David begins to question his decision, and his worst fears are realised when Bean accidentally ruins the painting shortly after it arrives. Fearing that he will lose his job and possibly face criminal charges for the damage, David becomes despondent and gets drunk, even though his family returns out of pity. Bean, however, comes up with a plan to save David's career by sneaking into the gallery at night and replacing the damaged painting with a poster that he alters to make it resemble a genuine painting with egg whites and Allison's perfume. The plan works and the painting is a success, but Bean is unexpectedly called to give a speech about the painting with General Newton, countless journalists and reporters watching. Bean, however, manages to give a sentimental and deep monologue about the painting and wins the crowd's praise and approval.
Just then, however, David is visited by Lieutenant Brutus (whom Bean had crossed more than once earlier on) and is initially perplexed with the police presence, assuming that the police might have discovered the issue with the priceless painting. Brutus however tells David that his daughter Jennifer has been in a motorcycle accident. They rush to the hospital, but Brutus and the police stop prematurely to deal with a mugging, in which Brutus is shot. David shares an uneasy reunion with Allison beside the unconscious Jennifer's bed, while Bean is mistaken for a medical doctor and forced into a theatre to help remove the bullet from Brutus's chest, which he manages to do unorthodoxly. While still in the doctor's garments, Bean comes across David, who asks him to help awaken Jennifer. Once alone with Jennifer, Bean begins fooling around the room and accidentally manages to wake Jennifer. Bean uneasily reveals himself to David and Allison and asks that he be allowed to stay with them another week, which they gladly accept. Bean goes on to spend quality time with David and his family until he leaves.
Eventually, David takes Bean to the airport for his flight home, where they part ways as friends. Once at home in London, Bean takes one last look at his room, which he has decorated with photographs with the Langleys and the original Whistler's Mother that was damaged and then stowed away, before going to bed.
Cast
- Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
- Peter MacNicol as David Langley
- John Mills as Chairman
- Pamela Reed as Alison Langley
- Harris Yulin as George Grierson
- Burt Reynolds as General Newton
- Larry Drake as Elmer
- Sandra Oh as Bernice Schimmel
- Danny Goldring as Security Buck
- Johnny Galecki as Stingo Wheelie
- Chris Ellis as Detective Butler
- Andrew Lawrence as Kevin Langley
- Peter Egan as Lord Walton
- Peter Capaldi as Gareth
- June Brown as Delilah
- Peter James as Doctor Rosenblum
- Tricia Vessey as Jennifer Langley
- Richard Gant as Lieutenant Brutus
Reception
The film was criticised for breaking with the program's tradition of having Mr. Bean as the centre of attention and for the alleged Americanisation required to sell it overseas (Bean also speaks intelligibly, albeit with apparent difficulty, as opposed to his frequent mumbling in the TV show). However, the movie grossed over USD$250 million globally on a budget estimated at $18 million. It was followed by a sequel in 2007 called Mr. Bean's Holiday.
The film holds a 42% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 5.3/10 based on 31 reviews. The film holds a score of 52 on Metacritic based on 20 reviews.
Soundtrack
The film's original score was by Howard Goodall, who had also written the music for the television series, although the original Mr. Bean theme was not used. Other non-original songs were also featured, in particular The Beatles' "Yesterday" (sung by Wet Wet Wet).
The CD soundtrack also featured a song not used in the film, a cover of the Alice Cooper song "Elected" (from the Billion Dollar Babies album) performed by famed Iron Maiden lead singer and Heavy metal icon Bruce Dickinson which features sound dubs of Mr. Bean making campaign promises. This had been used for Comic Relief in 1992.
Boyzone also released a song for the film, entitled "Picture of You".
List of songs performed by various artists
- I Love L.A.
Performed by: OMC - Picture Of You
Performed by: Boyzone - I Get Around
Performed by: The Beach Boys - Walking On Sunshine
Performed by: Katrina And The Waves - Yesterday
Performed by: Wet Wet Wet - Running Back For More
Performed by: Louise - That Kinda Guy
Performed by: Thomas Jules-Stock - Give Me A Little More Time
Performed by: Gabrielle - He's A Rebel
Performed by: Alisha's Attic - Stuck In The Middle With You
Performed by: Susanna Hoffs - Art For Art's Sake
Performed by: 10cc - Have Fun Go Mad
Performed by: Blair - Can We Talk (Pure Radio Mix)
Performed by: Code Red - Bean Theme (Mad Pianos)
Performed by: Howard Goodall - Elected
Performed by: Mr. Bean and The Smear Campaign featuring Bruce Dickinson
References
- ^ a b "Bean". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.Â
- ^ Review at Allmovie by Karl Williams, URL accessed 29 July 2006
- ^ Bean 2 at the official Mr. Bean site, URL accessed 29 July 2006]
- ^ "Bean (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Time Warner. Retrieved 15 January 2015.Â
- ^ "Bean reviews on Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 January 2015.Â
External links
- Bean at the Internet Movie Database
- Bean at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bean at Metacritic
- Bean at Box Office Mojo
- Bean at AllMovie
- BBC review
