Posted on 12/28/2004 6:03:22 PM PST by Kokojmudd
By Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star
For a fleeting moment, "Fat Albert" seems like it has a chance to break the curse of other cartoons-turned-live-action films and become something cool or at least a little innovative.
When a troubled high school girl named Doris (Kyla Pratt) sits down to watch "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," she starts to cry. The tear zaps her remote control, sending a magic ray into the TV, which opens a portal allowing Fat Albert and the gang to enter the real world.
Well, of course.
And here's where things have the chance to get awesome. Wouldn't it be sweet if the cartoon characters were just figments of the freaked-out girl's imagination? Mushmouth, Weird Harold and crew could be voices inside her disturbed head turned hallucinations, representing the freaky repercussions of being raised by a TV.
Or how about if they turned out to be real but evil, and Fat Albert and his band of rogues started a roughhouse crime syndicate that took over North Philly? Cops' bullets would bounce off of them, given their Roger Rabbit-ish invulnerability.
But nooo-oh. Director Joel Zwick, coming off the wild success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002), decided to take the dullest possible path and have Fat Albert's posse wander aimlessly throughout 90 wasted minutes, making sure to plug the recent DVD release of the cartoon series that ran from 1972 to 1984.
A generation came of age under the guidance of Bill Cosby's funky, bluntly moralizing street tales, so it's understandable how the studio wouldn't want to offend the movie's built-in audience. But the "Fat Albert" movie seems handcuffed by its bland adherence to one-note characters. The movie pours all its imagination into getting the Cosby kids here, then sits back with amused contentment the rest of the way.
Just as it was in the old days, Fat Albert (Kenan Thompson), the big, self-confident and athletic leader of the bunch, is the only one who ever does or says anything of substance, while his friends follow him around, bicker with one another and help Fat Albert solve other kids' problems. Doris tells the gang that she has no friends, and Fat Albert makes it his goal to change that, to Doris' embarrassment.
The Cosby Kids are amazed by every facet of modern technology. They stare dumbfoundedly at cell phones, cordless microphones, remote controls - pretty much everything without cords, come to think of it. They don't know what to do once they're here, and nor do the filmmakers know what to do with them.
As a result we're stuck with two romantic subplots, in which the humanized 'toons try to romance Doris and her foster sister, Lauri (Dania Ramirez).
Intermittent fish-out-of-water jokes liven things up in a corny way. The lone attempt at drama comes in the form of Fat Albert and pals gradually losing their color, as a result of being outside the TV too long. Well, their faces and bodies remain the same, but the wardrobe guy gives them increasingly pale clothing.
Cosby, apparently taking a break from his plans for "Picture Pages" and Pudding Pops movies, makes an appearance, and gravely warns Fat Albert that he needs to return to the cartoon show or else he'll fade away and vanish. We in the audience realize that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
I haven't seen the movie, but this seems like overanalysis. It wasn't meant to be great cinema - just entertaining.
Interesting opinion by the reviewer, I wonder if he's annoyed at Cosby about something.
I saw previews for this and it reminded me of the first Brady Bunch movie, where they come into modern times.
I nearly busted a gut on that movie. I loved it!
Yeah, Cosby has left the plantation and the old Democrat masters are not happy.
I would rather have seen a film set in the period (possibly somewhat updated) but something more like an all black "Dead End Kids" (there was a black Bowery Boy/East Side Kid/Dead End Kid) like the tv show was.
"Coming out of the tv" was the first indication that I saw in the trailer that I would not care for the film as I did the show the first time around.
I had no interest at all in the Scooby Doo films (the mystery was ALWAYS a crooked investor trying to buy up some property cheap, except now they are all "real" ghost stories).
Bill Cosby has told a lot of stories about growing up in his neighborhood. They would have made an interesting Fat Albert movie. Somehow it doesn't sound like that is what we got.
From what I understand Fat Albert was such a huge flop that it affected the Earth's rotation!
From what I understand Fat Albert was such a huge flop that it affected the Earth's rotation!
Interesting to note that Bill Cosby stressed the importance of clean lyrics for the movie soundtrack.
But I suspect he's right.
That would explain the inexplicable vitriol, yes.
While I don't think the reviewers "ideas" would be any good, I have to agree that the "fish out of water" "slackjawed at technology" plot has been done to death and wasn't very good in the first place. Probably the best thing they could have done was pick Cos' favorite 3 episodes, modernize them a little, blend them in together and do that in live action.
The reviewer is just a kid. Probably 26. The Rotten Tomatoes bio says he's a 2000 graduate of U. of Arizona. He got the Daily Star job right out of college. I'm not impressed, his writing is poor.
Dude, chill out. Ain't supposed to be Phantom of the Opera.
Fat Albert was, quite simply, the dumbest, most unfunny piece of crap EVER to gain the wandering attention of the little kiddies (hopefully VERY small children).
Why should the movie be any better?
And why should any parent waste their money on this movie when The Incredibles is still in the theater (take them again if you must), and Lemony Snicket is available (even a semi-watered down Snicket)?
Why, oh WHY indeed.
P.S.= Please, Mr. Oscar, don't forget The Passion, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Life Aquatic when the Best Picture nominees are announced.
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