The new, live-action version of Scooby-Doo (new in theaters June 14) strikes me as one of those movies where the people behind the scenes spent more time wondering "could we do this?" instead of "SHOULD we do this?" Must everything from the childhoods of glassy-eyed baby boomers and Generation Xers be made into a big-budget, full-length feature with updated effects and hipper-than-thou attitudes? Director Raja Gosnell and his team of costume designers, prop makers, and visual-effects pros have literally replicated the classic '60s and '70s cartoon for the big screen. In doing so, though, they have failed to breath any new cinematic life into the thing, and the result has the look and feel of an experiment gone wrong. Not horribly wrong, just wrong.
That said, I do think the movie will find its audience. By playing it safe, the filmmakers haven't broken any new ground, but they have produced a safe and innocuous kid flick. This one is strictly for the kids, folks ... the little, little kids. They'll love it, because the story has spirit, the costumes and sets are big and colorful, and the characters are wacky on a simple, juvenile level.
Oh, it tries to appeal to older fans. It throws in some subtle pot and drug references that will go right over Little Junior's head. It puts the female characters in the tightest possible sweaters, mini-dresses, and bikini tops (Little Junior will probably feel a rise in his Levi's for the first time in this movie ... not a bad thing). And the film has great fun flipping off the character of Scrappy-Doo, the Jar Jar Binks of the "Doo" saga. Scooby-Doo is, of course, based on the classic cartoon about four young people and their super-smart dog who travel around in their "Mystery Machine" van and solve whodunits, usually involving tricksters masquerading as ghosts and ghouls. As in the cartoon, the heart of this new movie is the relationship between Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby (Neil Fanning expertly providing the voice), a quasi-stoner and his Great Dane who constantly have the munchies. The other members of the group are bland hunk Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), red-haired hottie Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and brainy chick Velma (Linda Cardellini).
The movie version finds the team having bickered one too many times and gone their separate ways. They all come back together, though, to solve the mystery of Spooky Island, a spring-break hot spot that hundreds of rowdy college kids come to each year, only to leave as programmed super-zombies beholden to an unseen villain. The island is run by the shady Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson, once again totally unfunny), who immediately cast as a prime suspect by Scooby and the gang. Meanwhile, there is a voodoo beach priest (Miguel Nunez Jr.) and several other weird characters lurking about, raising eyebrows, and leaving plot threads unresolved.
Actually, the only thing truly weird about this film is how uneven it is, especially the casting. First, the good. I just love Linda Cardellini. She makes Velma not only smart and vulnerable, but also cute (any chick who says "Jinkies" is cool in my book) and kind of sexy. Yes, you read that right. Velma ... sexy!
Lillard, meanwhile, nails the whole Shaggy look and voice. I'm so glad the guy took the role seriously, and the result is a truly great impersonation of the classic cartoon stoner. Actually, it's better than an impersonation. Lillard makes the role his own. Best of all, he is able to believably act and interact with the computer-generated Scooby dog, who he is onscreen with in nearly every scene. Because of Lillard, we are able to halfway believe that Scoob is there with him and the other three-dimensional humans, even though CGI Scooby is somewhat of an odd-looking creation thrust awkwardly into the middle of much of the live-action.
And now for the bad, my friends.
Is there any worse actor in Hollywood right now than Freddie Prinze Jr? I hate being so blunt, but I have to vent. Watching this guy try and pull off any emotion--even a cartoon emotion--is just painful. It has been for years. On screen, Prinze (sporting the worst blonde hair since Angelina Jolie in Life or Something Like It) seems incapable of even basic thought. Worst of all, the writers hold Fred to be a cocky, egotistical, all-knowing jerk.
As for Gellar's interpretation of Daphne, well, guys with IQs of 50 or less will enjoy the dress and the cleavage and forgive all else. But, as written and performed, the character is just a shrill, uninteresting mess, annoyingly running the same damsel-in-distress joke into the ground in scene after scene. Daphne's one character trait is that she always gets herself caught by the bad guys. The first time she complains about this, it's a clever riff on the cartoon. By the THIRTIETH time, I just wanted Gellar to return the red wig to wardrobe and get out of my face.
The problem is that Prinze and Gellar play down to their characters. As a result, they deliver obvious and impersonal performances (it doesn't help that they throw in several knowing wink-winks to the audience that they are a couple in real life). By contrast, Cardellini and Lillard find the underlying sweetness in Velma and Shaggy, respectively, and are pleasant to follow when they are onscreen.
All would be forgiven, though, if the movie gave audiences even a remotely interesting mystery or some cool stunts. The far-fetched plot of Scooby-Doo revolves around a theme park, and the action is simply theme-park quality. Have you ever gone to one of those Disney or Six Flags or Universal Studios shows where hired actors put on stunt displays every hour on the hour? They're enjoyable, but mechanical. That is perhaps the best way to describe this version of Scooby-Doo. Add to that a pop music soundtrack that is nothing short of intolerable. At one point, a possessed Sugar Ray serenades Daphne on the beach, and the resulting tune (as well as the various "Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You" re-mixes heard throughout) will make you wish you were hearing the world through Marlee Matlin's ears.
I waited around to hear some of the reactions from moviegoers as they streamed out of this past weekend's preview screening. Some parents who had brought their kids walked to the parking lot doing the Scooby voice ("Rooby-Roo!" and the patented "He he he he he he") for their little ones. That was sweet. However, those who didn't have children were muttering things like: "That movie made me lose all faith that there is a loving, forgiving God up in Heaven." Look, the film isn't THAT bad. It has its moments, and your kiddies WILL eat it up like it was a plate of delicious Scooby snacks. Just don't expect many crumbs left over if you are a grown-up along for the ride.
Scooby-Doo is rated PG for mild, cartoonish action and
a scene where Shaggy and Scooby get into an embarrassing flatulence contest.
While the movie contains no bad language, it does have loads of very watchable,
wait-for-the-video-or-DVD cleavage. Some parents may find this objectionable.
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