From: Bill Reif 
Subject: Magoo review
I found this in the alt.disability.blind.social newsgroup.  This review 
confirms some of what we have been saying --- namely that a bumbling 
blind person is no longer regarded as funny.
Enjoy!!
-- Bill Reif --
Subject: Re: Review: Mr. Magoo (1/2)
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 18:18:13 -0800
Lines: 71
Well, here's the scoop from a sighted and uninvolved reviewer.  I think
it explains it all.  If this movie bombs, horribly, it may well make
Disney think twice.  a whack at their social conscience does not harm
that armored and insensitive spot, but a whack at the wallet? Ouch!
Swan
Steve Rhodes wrote:
                                MR. MAGOO
                      A film review by Steve Rhodes
                       Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
 RATING (0 TO ****):  1/2  (one half star)
      Some concepts seem patently hopeless from the beginning, a
 live-action version of MR. MAGOO being a prime example.  The cartoon
 figure Mr. Magoo, the bumbling blind man, can be quite funny, but only
 in small doses and only within the confines of animated images.
      If you think NAKED GUN star Leslie Nielsen is a dubious choice to
 play the role of the short guy who runs into walls, you are right, but
 there is an even more astonishing selection.  For a director they
 tapped Hong Kong's Stanley Tong, whose resume consists mainly of a
 handful of movies featuring martial arts expert Jackie Chan.
      The story, such that there is one, is about a large, stolen ruby,
 which looks a Woolworth reject.  Mr. Magoo gets it and, of course, does
 not realize he has it.  Mayhem then ensues as the bad and the good guys
 chase each other with Mr. Magoo frequently oblivious to the fact that
 anyone is being chased.
      Like HOME ALONE 3 but without any class, MR. MAGOO can only be
 described as painfully bad.  Fifteen minutes of it feels like an
 eternity.  The movie's humor is pathetically lame, and the pacing is
 way off.
      When one is stuck in a theater for an hour and a half watching
 what claims to be a motion picture, one looks for some solace.  MR.
 MAGOO provides only three such moments.
      The movie begins and ends with the classic cartoon version of the
 character, who exudes his usual charm.  The only other saving grace in
 the movie itself is Angus, the sweet little bulldog.  Angus
 demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of
 the humans in the picture.  Finally, the ending credits contain
 outtakes of the movie, which have some of the genuineness and
 spontaneity that the movie badly lacked.
      Rather than attempt to adapt Mr. Magoo to a non-cartoon movie,
 Nielsen makes the strategic mistake of trying to literally be a human
 version of the cartoon.  He has trouble sustaining the squinting eyes
 and the affected voice, and even when he does it comes off as awkwardly
 unfunny.
      My wife managed to get some sleep during the movie, but I was not
 so lucky.  Hopefully, this picture will force producers to think harder
 about which subjects have promise and which do not.
      MR. MAGOO runs 1:37.  It is rated PG for comic violence and would
 be acceptable for all ages.
      My son Jeffrey, age 8, said he thought the movie was good and
 really funny, but recommends you not choose it if you want an action
 movie.  He said he liked HOME ALONE 3 much more.  His friend Maxim, age
 9, said that he thought it was good but very silly and parts did not
 make sense.  His other friend Nickolas, age 8, said he'd give the movie
 *** 1/2, but that it was really silly.
 _______________________________________________________________________
      We saw the film at its press screening.  It opens nationwide in
 the United States this Christmas.
Net-Tamer V 1.10.1  - Test Drive
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