Johnny English Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)July 28th, 2003
"Johnny English" - Ignorance is Bliss by Homer Yen
(c) 2003
Although I find nothing unappealing about the reserved comedic style of Rowan Atkinson, who stars in this spy spoof, I am not particularly endeared to him either. This is a character actor who sort of just blends into the background and then waits for his opportune moment to stick his head out and do something unexpected. Think of a clown wearing a suit with a trick flower pinned onto the lapel. When you move in a bit closer to look at it, you are then squirted with water. His payoffs are dependent on timing and moderation. The result does provide for a few well-timed laughs. However, that just means that too much of his kind of schtick would wear thin too quickly.
Consider these examples of this kind of comedy. He'll say something like, "the mysteries of the Orient are no mystery to me." Then he struggles to pick up his chopsticks and then further struggles to stomach his bite of sea urchin (the ultimate acquired taste). Or, he'll exclaim something like, "I'm always careful!" Then, he'll get up and bump his head. Or, he'll commit some utterly monumental faux pas and will then pose in a thoughtful manner as if to pass it off as high-level detective work. It's the kind of humor that, in tiny doses, causes us to grin while we roll our eyes.
It's also the kind of work that will thoroughly frustrate his superiors and his earnest partner, Bough (Ben Miller). However, after a freak accident that kills all of the other agents, Johnny English is given the responsibility of watching over the Crown Jewels. However, Johnny's ineptitude leads to its theft. And now he's determined to summon all of his skills (which wouldn't really even fill a chapter of a how-to-spy book) to recover them.
At this point, "Johnny English" becomes a James Bond parody, complete with high-tech gizmos and even a fully loaded Astin Martin. And while 007 uses his car to fire rockets at would-be attackers, our inept Brit uses his to blow up red light cameras that have caught him speeding. In it's own goofy way, that's kind of funny.
His primary suspect is Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), a brash billionaire who has concocted an ingenious plan to take the throne of England. This accomplished actor certainly has more villainy in him. But, the slow pace and one-dimensional script doesn't allow him to really show off his acting chops. Too bad. Meanwhile, Johnny receives help from the svelte Lorna Campbell (singer Natalie Imbruglia) who becomes a casualty of his incompetence and eventually looks like as if she wants to hit him over the head with a microphone.
"Johnny English" is a serviceable comedy, but is handicapped by its lack of physical and madcap humor, which are the success hallmarks of Jim Carrey and Mike Myers.
There are moments where the film seems like it is about to collapse from it's own flimsy screenplay and understated comedy. But the film is probably a bit more enjoyable than one might expect. Fortunately for us, despite his penchant to do embarrassing things, the giggles do come and our inept Brit never quite outstays his welcome.
Grade: C+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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