"Speed, Greed, and other Animal Behaviors"
"What Christian and mainstream critics are saying about Dr. Dolittle 2, The Fast and the Furious, Sexy Beast, The Anniversary Party, and other cinematic options."
Jeffrey Overstreet | posted 6/01/2001 12:00AM
Last weekend provided evidence that audiences have a need for speed and a fondness for talking animals with bad flatulence. Hollywood sure knows how to give the public what it wants. Those who care about what audiences need are not having a good summer. And those who write reviews in hopes of counseling moviegoers toward excellence, well, they're left scratching their heads, baffled by the box office.
Hot from the Oven
Audiences obviously get something out of watching Eddie Murphy react to talking animals that pass gas, because here he is again with Doctor Dolittle 2. The U.S. Catholic Conference says Doctor Dolittle 2 "offers a rehash of the same sassy wisecracks between Murphy and the critters in a drawn-out, sometimes sweet but often rude sequel." This time, Dolittle gets back to nature, setting up camp in a forest where he intends to introduce Archie, a circus bear, to Ava, an endangered wild bear. If he can only help them help themselves—that is, if the sparks of love will fly—then the woods will be protected from the wicked, encroaching developers.
Encroaching bad reviews—from the mainstream and the religious press—didn't phase most filmgoing families; the $25 million the film brought in over the weekend practically guarantees we'll be seeing more of this stuff. Murphy, whose fans grumble that his best work seems to be a thing of the past, manages to be more popular than ever.
The prevalence of sex-related humor throughout the film prevented its acceptance with critics in the religious media. Preview warns that the subject of "mating" may be inappropriate as the central thread of a children's movie, and also joins the collective critical sigh over the typically crude humor. "But," Preview's critic concludes, "Doctor Dolittle also realizes that communication with family is as important as talking to the animals." "I took my 15-year-old son and his friend to get an honest critical reaction from the demographics who will see this movie," writes Holly McClure at The Dove Foundation, "and I was surprised to hear they both liked it a lot." However, she adds, "I'm glad I took younger 'critics' with me because they were able to enjoy this movie from a lighthearted, younger perspective that (in this instance) I didn't have. I only laughed a couple of times and overall I thought it was silly, slow and overloaded with way too many animal jokes about passing gas, urinating and mating."
Movieguide's critic saw the movie take a wrong turn when it abandoned the romance plot for a hackneyed confrontation about environmentalism. "The trouble is the audience cared about the former, which took up most of the movie, not the latter," says the reviewer. "Therefore, kids stopped laughing and critics started mumbling that the movie was way too long. Running out of story and unaccustomed to character development, the movie tried to hold the audience by increasing the bathroom humor and lightweight sexual references, which made the later half of the movie just plain dirty." Focus on the Family's Bob Smithouser writes, "Viewers who hate to feel manipulated by filmmakers' social agendas will loathe Dr. Dolittle 2 for wearing its environmentalism on its sleeve. While it effectively drives the story, it still feels preachy." Still, Smithouser found some things to like: "The script isn't spectacular but it has a good heart, as well as a gaggle of hit-and-miss gags and pop culture nods that had me laughing from my gut more than once. Long-time Eddie Murphy fans will find him domesticated and censored here (a pleasant change), much closer to Bill Cosby than Axel Foley."
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