An interesting concept, part animation, part live action depending on whether we are inside or outside of Frank's (Murray) flabby, unkempt body, Osmosis Jones hits all the right spots occasionally but never quite manages to do so consistently enough to hold the interest. It focuses on an incompetent white blood cell, Osmosis Jones (Rock), whose role in Frank's body is that of a cop guarding his vital organs from virus's and anything else that can upset the daily goings-on. When after eating a particularly rancid egg, covered in grass and monkey spit no less, Frank begins to feel unwell, Jones is paired up with the newly-arrived Drix (Hyde-Pierce), an off-the-shelf painkiller which Frank takes to get better. The two of them begin to investigate and repair what they and everyone else, including the slimy Mayor (voiced by William Shatner), see as nothing more than a mild bug. However, after a few unusual sightings in the throat and nasal cavities, it becomes clear to Jones and Drix that something far more serious is at work, something which has the capability to kill Frank in only a few days.
At the core of the film is two seperate stories which converge upon Frank's wellbeing. On the live-action front we have Frank, a disgusting zookeeper, and his efforts to please his daughter who wants him to eat better, take care of himself and most importantly, go on a school hike with her. On the animated side we have Jones and Drix attempting to track down and kill the deadly virus Thrax (Fishburne) before he can get into Frank's brain and kill him, which is all he wants to do. All the while we have the Mayor, who has a small amount of control over Frank's habits and is therefore just as at fault as Frank in his choice of living conditions, constant effort to tell everyone that everything is tickety-boo, and that they shouldn't worry... or vote for something else in the upcoming elections (shades of Jaws perhaps).
The first thing you should note when about to watch this is that it's not strictly a comedy, certainly not in comparison with the Farrelly's previous outings, and even their trademark gross-out style is tempered by the for-kids aspect, and also the fact that it was written solely by Marc Hyman. Sure we have Murray vomiting on a schoolteacher, and a spot flying off his face onto the self-same teachers lip. Not to mention the monkey-egg incident. But on the whole it's rather devoid of the jokes we've come to expect from other studios such as Pixar. Naturally though, much of the joy is to be found in the vividly created world inside Murray's body, and the brilliant ways they've found to give all the cells in our body jobs and personalities, from the white and red blood cells being cops and firemen, to the saliva boats and even the nasty bacteria being criminals and thugs. Sadly this fantasy world isn't strong enough to carry the film on its own, and this has to go down as a bit of a missed opportunity. |
