Written by / 6/29/2011 / No comments / , , ,

YOGI BEAR

title: YOGI BEAR
year: 2011
cast: Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cavanagh, Anna Faris
rating: *

A reboot usually refers to when a computer goes bad, and in order to get things back in place, you restart it and hopefully, it'll work like before. But with movies, rebooting often does the opposite, messing up what worked just fine. Here we have a classic children's television show centering on Yogi, a walking/talking bear and his counterpart, Boo-Boo. At every turn, Yogi, native to Jellystone Park, steals picnic baskets and is hassled by Ranger Smith, an uptight grownup who, in the cartoon, made for a terrific foil. But here he's a broodingly sarcastic young-looking fellow who should be hanging out at a yuppie pool hall, and our furry stars, who only yearn for those baskets during the first ten minutes, are merely backdrop to a lame story involving the ranger shyly romancing a blond documentary filmmaker, and a duo of corporate goons wanting to shut down the park. So this reboot, like several others out there, are taking something cornily nostalgic and playing them tongue and cheek, with one foot off the proverbial bed, to avoid being silly like the original, but in that, are missing everything that was endearing and entertaining enough to, three decades later, base a film on. Dan Aykroyd, voicing Yogi, seems to be doing an imitation, but Justin Timberlake does a good enough job you forget it's him. Sad thing, neither creature adds much here, and look so computer-animated they don't seem real at all. Then again, either does anything, or anyone, else. And there's a new brand of sarcasm out there, difficult to explain... it's kind of deadpan, providing a muted punchline born from a dull sense of missed expectation. It occurs in droves here, and many other contemporary comedies; and please, for the love of God, enough already!
Share This Post :
Tags : , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

DEFENDING THE BREEZY SEQUEL 'BREAKIN 2': ELECTRIC BOOGALOO'

Title: BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Year: 1984 Rating: *** Cannon Films' BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO  was rushed out the same...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "Yeah, and the devil serves lemonade, right?" David Proval, Kojak

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)THE BREAK 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)MODEL SHOP 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year