Mr.Magoo

Hello, I said in my review of Elf that i would/might review Mr.Magoo (it's close enough to the end of December for it to not count as the holiday season). Well, I am reviewing it. So let me give you some history. Mr.Magoo was a cartoon about a nearsighted old man who always got into comical situations which always seem to work out in the end. Someone thought that it would make a good movie and now it exists. So lets take a look at Mr.Magoo.

In the opening credits we start in the cartoon but then go into live action where we see Mr.Magoo (Leslie Nielsen) who is CEO of a canned vegetable company (no comment). Magoo is funding an exhibition for a valuable ruby. But Magoo ruins everything when he mistakes an electrical wire for a ribbon he was supposed to cut but cuts the wire. Now in a cartoon it would be funny but this is terrifying. Let's move on from that "joke". So Magoo get trapped in a sarcophagus thinking it's a phone booth. Later that night two thieves named Bob Morgan (Nick Chinlund) and Luanne LeSeur (Kelly Lynch) break into the museum to steal the ruby and they partake in a stunt that is comprised of cartoon sound effects. I am serious: almost every stunt in this film has annoying cartoon sound effects but it's most obvious in this stunt. Now where was I? During the stunt they let Magoo out of the sarcophagus. But they manage to steal the ruby.

What am I looking at

The next day the two thieves are on a ferry boat but Luanne betrays Bob and the ruby falls into Mr.Magoo's row boat who was just passing by. Meanwhile at the museum the curator and a woman named Stacey Sampanahoditra (Jennifer Garner) send in two agents named Chuck Stupak FBI (Stephen Tobolowsky) and Gustav Anders (Ernie Hudson) to solve the case by spying on Mr.Magoo who they think stole the ruby. Later that night Magoo is preforming at the opera and Magoo's nephew Waldo (Matt Keeslar) and Stacy are attending. Luanne tricks Magoo by saying she's a journalist and schedules an appointment for the next day. But Bob tries to kidnap/kill Magoo but Magoo's bumbling antics cause Bob to activate a fan, and the opera is a disaster. The next day Luanne tricks Magoo into taking her to his house. We get a scene where Agent Chuck, Bob and Luanne are trying to get the ruby from Magoo without anyone noticing. Meanwhile, while that comedy sketch is going on Magoo tries to cook a turkey but the channel keeps changing and some how they are all how to shows (what comical luck). But Waldo interrupts Magoo when he says that he thinks someone is in the house. Bob manages to steal the ruby so Magoo, Waldo and Luanne (who convinced Waldo and Magoo that she is an FBI agent) chase Bob in a car that looks like a giant eggplant... I take back what I said about that scene in elf...a car chase involving a giant eggplant is the strangest movie visual I have seen. Anyway after the car chase with the eggplant, Luanne tells Magoo and Waldo that the ruby is being auctioned off at a ski resort to a bunch of gangsters.

So they have Magoo pose as a gangster called Ortega Peru . Why Magoo? He is kind of a klutz and constantly proves to be a danger. So anyway Magoo gets to the auction which for some reason is held in a swimming pool. Bob's boss Austin Cloquet (Malcolm McDowell) is auctioning off the ruby but Magoo's tattoo rubs off in the pool water. But then Luanne comes in and steal's the ruby and we get another chase scene which ends in Mr.Magoo and Waldo losing Luanne and Bob getting arrested by agents Gustav and Chuck. So Waldo and Magoo figure out that Luanne is selling the ruby to the real Ortega Peru (Miguel Ferrer) in Brazil. So they go to Ortega's mansion and Magoo mistakes a monkey for a little girl. Why? The writers thought it was funny. Luanne sells the ruby to Ortega. Waldo is captured and Magoo knocks out Ortega's girlfriend (Monique Rusu) and steals a wedding dress. He is lead to the wedding and he steals the ruby from Ortega. Magoo frees Waldo. Eventualy Magoo gets Luanne arrested but magoo goes over a waterfall but he uses his raft as a parachute. So we have Leslie Nielsen wearing a wedding dress going over a waterfall...no the giant eggplant car chase is still a stranger movie visual. Back to the film. So the movie ends with the Ruby returned to the museum  and the movie reverting to the cartoon and then we get a disclaimer saying that they did not wish to insult nearsighted or blind people. The End                     


What did i think of the movie. It is bad. I mean not one of the worst movies of all time but still bad. Most of the jokes don't work and a lot of the stunts have annoying cartoon sound effects. Also we never see Magoo at his work (except for in the opening credits). But some jokes are funny (depending on your style of comedy) and the stunts in this movie are cool (the one without the cartoon sound effects that is). I only recommend this movie if you are curious for whats in store.

Elf

Hello welcome. Last time I reviewed A Christmas Story so I shall be reviewing another Christmas movie (yes I know Christmas is over). Elf. Elf is the story of a human named Buddy (Will Ferrell) who is raised by elves. So let’s end December with my review of Elf.

We start the movie in an orphanage where a woman is putting a baby to sleep on Christmas but as soon as the woman leaves Santa Claus comes and buddy the baby crawls into Santa’s sack. When Santa gets back to the North Pole an elf named Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) adopts Buddy. But apparently humans age faster than elves and buddy grows fast.  Baby Buddy grows up into Will Ferrell and he is not very good at making toys. So one of the elves convinces him that he is special and sends Buddy to work in toy testing. But Buddy overhears some elves talking about him being a human and Buddy goes to his house where Papa elf tells him about his real father named Walter Hobbs (James Caan) and Walter never knew he was born and Buddy’s mother passed away. So Buddy goes to find his father in New York City.

 Meanwhile Walter is working at a Book Company and Walter refuses to reprint a children’s book to fix two blank pages. But then Buddy comes in and tries to convince Walter that he is his father. But he doesn’t believe him and kicks buddy out. Buddy goes to Gimbels department store and while he is there he is mistaken for an employee and he meets an employee named Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) who Buddy falls in love with. Later that night Buddy stays at the store and decorates it with Christmas decorations because Santa is coming to the store. The next day Santa (Artie Lange) comes to the store and Buddy rips off the fake Santa`s beard and Santa beats up Buddy. By the way  am I the only one that thinks Artie Lange dressed like Santa beating up  Will Ferrell dressed as an elf is a very strange movie visual…back to the film. Buddy is arrested and he goes to jail. When he gets to jail he calls Walter and Walter takes Buddy to the doctor and through a DNA test the doctor proves that Buddy is Walters’s son. Walter takes Buddy home to meet Buddy’s step mother Emily (Mary Steenberg) and Buddy’s step brother Michael (Daniel Tay). But Buddy confuses his family with his childish antics.

Buddy makes better friends with Michael after he helps him beat some bullies in a snowball fight. After the snowball fight he asks Jovie out on a date. Meanwhile Walter finds out that he might get in trouble if he does not come up with a good pitch. Buddy briefly gets a job in the Empire State Building mail room but he causes a ruckus and gets fired. Walter decides to save the company (and his job) by hiring the children’s author Miles Finch (Peter Dinklage). When Miles arrives they go over some ideas. But Buddy arrives and messes everything up and Walter gets angry at him and tells him to get out. The depressed Buddy writes a letter and runs away.

After Buddy leaves for the North Pole Walter’s colleagues find Miles Finch’s note book and they put a pitch together. But when the meeting starts Michael comes in and tells Walter that Buddy is missing so Walter puts his family before his work (for once) and goes out to find Buddy. Meanwhile Buddy sees Santa’s sleigh crash in Central Park. Buddy goes to the spot where Santa (Edward Asner) crashed. Santa tells Buddy that the engine fell out of the sleigh and that there is no Christmas spirit so the reindeer can’t fly. Buddy goes to find the engine and meets up with Walter and Michael. Michael finds out that he can make Santa’s sleigh fly by making people believe in him. So Michael brings Santa’s list to some news cameras near the crash and reads it out loud to make people believe. Then Jovie leads the people in the park in singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and after everyone sings Santa’s sleigh flys. Now I have to admit making Santa’s sleigh fly by singing is a bit corny.

But we have an epilogue to get to. Walter opened his own printing company. Their first book is called Elf it’s about Buddy’s adventures. Several years later Jovie and Buddy get married and have a daughter named Susan. The End

I like this movie. Will Ferrell as Buddy is hilarious. I have to admit it is very corny sometimes. The premise is very funny once you think about it. I mean a human who is raised by elves…very weird. This is a good movie for the holidays. By the way I am 99.9% sure that I will review Mr.Magoo next.