Bean

1997 | 89 minutes | 6.5 ★ (2371)

Bean
  • Overview

    Childlike Englishman, Mr. Bean, is an incompetent watchman at the Royal National Gallery. After the museum's board of directors' attempt to have him fired is blocked by the chairman, who has taken a liking to Bean, they send him to Los Angeles to act as their ambassador for the unveiling of a historic painting to humiliate him. Fooled, Mr. Bean must now successfully unveil the painting or risk his and a hapless Los Angeles curator's termination.

  • Release Date

    03 July 1997

  • DirectingMel Smith
  • Budget

    $18,000,000.00

  • Revenue

    $251,212,670.00

  • Stars

Videos

User Reviews

See more
FMN

Filipe Manuel Neto

05 March 2024

**Serious harmonization problems.** After the enormous success of Mr. Bean, it was reasonably predictable that, sooner or later, we would see Rowan Atkinson performing his usual antics in a film production. However, despite the actor's efforts, the truth is that it would never be the same, nor could it be, and sometimes the jokes are so forced that they simply lose their effectiveness. In this film, Bean found work at the National Gallery in London. A job that is apparently safe, if we consider that the character gets into trouble even with the simplest tasks: he is a watchman and sits in a chair while visitors and tourists walk around. The problem is that, in the case of Bean, we know that things are going to get complicated almost by magic: and the gallery directors are very happy when the curators of a Californian museum acquire a remarkable painting by an American author and an expert to talk about her at a presentation ceremony: Bean is the one the directors most want to see behind her back, so they don't even hesitate. From here, disaster is waiting to happen. Let's be honest: the film is funny and works reasonably well. It's a good quality comedy, and it was also successful at the box office (although that's not synonymous with quality, because it's also true that there are many much worse films, like “Ted”, which also sold well). We can't point out defects that it doesn't have at all. For me, the biggest defect of this film is the audience, which created very high expectations at the expense of the gigantic success of the fourteen episode miniseries that Atkinson created in the 90s. Anyone waiting to have the same experience with This film will always be disappointing. Things aren't the same, they don't work the same way and everything is a little more exaggerated and forced. However, it would be difficult for an American production to make a feature-length film with Bean any other way. The film takes great care and attention with the sets, cinematography, costumes and effects used, but it is still within the “standard” of light films that the USA released at this time. It's nothing truly exceptional. Throughout the film, situations occur that attempt to recreate Atkinson's style of humor, as he does his best to avoid talking, but still has to do so occasionally. We can say that the actor made a huge effort, but that he also encountered problems adapting his recipe to the North American cinematic style. It's like trying to dress a child in an adult man's costume: it will look bizarre, disharmonious and ugly, but he's dressed. In between, we also have to positively highlight the work of Peter MacNicoll, and of course, being a historian and an art lover, I have to congratulate the use of the occasion to make known to the general public a magnificent painting that really exists: Arrangement in Gray and Black nº 1. It was painted by James Whistler and can be seen at the Orsay Museum in Paris.

More Like This

Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop

Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is...

See more
Armageddon

Armageddon

When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and...

See more
Beverly Hills Cop II

Beverly Hills Cop II

Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of...

See more
Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman

While on a business trip in Los Angeles, Edward Lewis, a millionaire entrepreneur who makes a living buying and breaking up companies, picks up a...

See more
The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a...

See more
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.

See more
Spirited Away

Spirited Away

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon...

See more
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When...

See more
The Party

The Party

A thirteen-year-old French girl deals with moving to a new city and school in Paris, while at the same time her parents are getting a divorce.

See more
The Party 2

The Party 2

A young French teenage girl after moving to a new city falls in love with a boy and is thinking of having sex with him because her girlfriends have...

See more
The Wizard

The Wizard

A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video-game championship.

See more
Amélie

Amélie

At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days...

See more
Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part III

The final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild...

See more
To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

See more
About a Boy

About a Boy

Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an...

See more
Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die

James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr...

See more
Stolen Kisses

Stolen Kisses

The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from...

See more
Antoine and Colette

Antoine and Colette

Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love...

See more
Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist the modern filmed version of Charles Dickens bestseller, a Roman Polanski adaptation. The classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets...

See more
Bed and Board

Bed and Board

Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers...

See more