INSPECTOR GADGET
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
A thumb that turns into a cigarette lighter. That's about as funny as
INSPECTOR GADGET ever gets. Disney's new live-action movie pins all of
its hopes for laughter on such sight gags.
As the gadget-laden hero, Inspector Gadget, poor Matthew Broderick is
stuck yet again in a movie in which he delivers an awkward performance
in an underwritten role. Broderick invests little emotional energy in
the part of a guy whose reconstructed body is a collection of gadgets
and gizmos.
The writing credits go to a committee of four (Dana Olsen, Kerry Ehrin,
Zak Penn and Audrey Wells). The quality of a script is usually inversely
proportional to the number of writers, and this screenplay is no
exception. The dialog packs no punch whatsoever, leaving the physical
comedy alone to carry the picture.
The one-joke movie consists of having Inspector Gadget, a kid's version
of RoboCop, demonstrating all of his hardware. The comedy comes from the
way the mechanisms frequently go awry, causing such "hilarious" mistakes
as various parts of his body crashing through ceilings and walls. The
result is a movie with a laugh count of maybe one or two small chuckles.
As written, was the project doomed? Perhaps not. Consider, for a minute,
what it might have become with Brendan Fraser. He throws himself heart
and soul into his every part. Willing to risk looking completely
ridiculous, Fraser usually dazzles us with his comedic bravado.
Broderick, on the other hand, never convinces us he even wants to be on
the set.
Still, even the usually reliable Rupert Everett, who plays the movie's
villain, Claw, doesn't show much spark in his acting.
There is one undeniably enjoyable part of the production. It doesn't
last long.
INSPECTOR GADGET runs 1:20. It is rated PG for wacky violence/action,
language and innuendo and would be fine for kids of all ages.
My son Jeffrey, age 10, gave the movie ** 1/2, complaining that it
didn't have enough action, comedy or mystery. His buddy Nickolas, age
10, gave the film ***. He thought the movie needed more action, but he
really liked the talking car in it.
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Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: I was rather disappointed in Disney's live action remake of Inspector Gadget. I used to watch a lot of the cartoon when I was a kid, and while this movie tries somewhat to be like the cartoon, doesn't come very close. Unfortunately Matthew Broderick gives a very drab uninspired performance as the bumbling inspector, but he doesn't really have much to work from here. This movie should have had lots of laughs from all the goofy gadgets, but I only snickered a few times. A number of characters in this movie are great comedic actors and actresses like Andy Dick, Dabney Colemana and Cheri Oteri, but they weren't all that funny because of their limited character roles. I didn't like Claw's portrayal here, in the cartoon he's a sinister faceless character, but in the movie he's just rather pathetic. Also in the cartoon, Penny and Brain were the real brains behind everything and just made Inspector Gadget look good, but it's not like that here. The Gadgetmobile looked good, but I think it would have been a good idea to use the original voice of Inspector Gadget, Don Adams, as the voice of the car. Don Adam's voice does have a brief cameo in the end credits as the voice of Brain. I think if someone isn't familiar with the cartoon from the 80's, they won't get this movie at all. Fans of the series should check this out, but they will probably be somewhat disappointed when comparing it to the original.
I give Inspector Gadget 2 out of 5 stars
Review written December 10, 1999
