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"Osmosis Jones"
(Reviewed August 2, 2001)
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What a major disappointment. The Farrelly Brothers struck gold two movies ago with "There's Something About Mary." Last year, their "Me, Myself & Irene" was nowhere near as successful, but I liked it. Okay, it wasn't a landmark of comedic genius, but it had its yocks.
But "Osmosis Jones"--man oh man, is this ever a lousy waste of 90 minutes.
Half of the movie is live-action, with Bill Murray as the slovenly, overweight single parent of a goody-two-shoes pre-teen girl who spends most of her screen time trying to get him to eat better and exercise. Laughing yet? Me neither! The live-action footage doesn't even LOOK good, with ugly contrasts, graininess and bad color.
The other half of the movie is animated, following the exploits of a jive-talking white blood cell voiced by Chris Rock. Is this guy EVER going to be in a good movie? His remake of "Heaven Can Wait" last year ("Down to Earth") was flat-out awful. In "Osmosis Jones," he shucks and struts like an annoying ghetto clown who got dropped into an especially bad (and that's saying something) "Tiny Toons Adventure." David Hyde Pierce (of "Frasier"), who plays a superhero-type cold-capsule, is the stereotypical "clueless white male who needs lessons in keeping it real" character. Their banter is what you would expect government employees to come up with if they scripted a daffy public-service announcement about "Our Friend the Immune System."
The homey and the honky are on the trail of a killer virus inside Bill Murray's body. That whole concept is kind of off-putting, because in this day and age it is hard not to think of the menace they are pursuing as AIDS. (The producers should have called this movie "FantAIDSia." Or maybe "The Little MermAIDS." Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week!) Making the villain a cold virus would have been a little less creepy, considering that the movie seems to be geared toward kids.
It's not funny. It's not fun. Avoid.
Back Row Grade: F
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