I’m a fan of Johnny Depp. He’s made tons of movies that I’ve
enjoyed over the years. My wife is an even bigger fan but then there’s that
whole ooo look at him attitude she has that I don’t quite share. But for some reason
over the past few years Depp has chosen some rather odd movies to make, movies
that aren’t doing well at the box office. Add this one to the list, deservedly
so.
Depp plays Mortdecai, an Inspector Clouseau type character
who bumbles in nearly everything he does and yet comes out on top. As an art
dealer and part time thief, Mortdecai has squandered his money and is about to
be tossed out of his estate, something that his wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow)
is none too keen about.
In an effort to help and to save him (and her) from this
embarrassment, old friend inspector Alistair Martland (Ewan McGregor) offers
Mortdecai a job. A Goya painting has been stolen and he hires Mortdecai to help
track it down. Along with his ever faithful manservant Jock Strapp (Paul
Bettany) to help, he sets off to retrieve the painting and save his home. Their
world hopping escapades to recover the painting and save his home are what make
up the movie.
This might sound like a nice set up for a great comedy but
it fails more often than succeeds. The pompousness of Mortdecai is the main gag
here and it becomes boring early on in the film. A joke involving his moustache
and how it makes his wife gag to the point of throwing up which in turn makes
him throw up is funny the first time but grows old the more it repeats. His
bumbling also grows tiresome as the movie progresses and the saves performed on
his behalf by Jock makes you wonder why he would stay with him all these years
rather than marvel at how funny each is.
I won’t say the film is without laughs and I did just that
several times while watching it. But in the end those moment weren’t near what
they should have been with this film being a comedy and all. With a running
time of 107 minutes there should have been far less set up and more laughs
before the credits rolled. A tighter script would have helped, condensing the
film to no more than 90 minutes top by eliminating the wasted moments found
here.
Depp can be an amazing actor. He possesses the skills for
comedic timing, check any of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN to see that. He can
also do dialect with ease and create quirky characteristics for the portrayals
of roles he’s been given. At the same time he can overdo all of that and make a
character you end up not wanting to watch for any length of time. Mortdecai is
one of those characters.
This isn’t the worst movie ever made and some will enjoy it
but for me it left me wanting to go back and watch those old Pink
Panther/Inspector Clouseau films with Peter Sellers. Sellers knew when to go
for laughs and when to sit back. Those films had tight scripts without wasted
moments. The people behind this film could have learned something from watching
those. If the movies that are worth watching are all checked out when you go to
rent a movie then this one could pass an evening. But as for repeat worthiness
it doesn’t fit the bill.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment