The Official RAZZIE® Forum : Ye Olde Head RAZZberry's Commentary...

Author: HeadRAZZBerry
Subject: 5499
Posted: October 24 2011 at 1:14pm

THE FIRST JOHNNY ENGLISH MOVIE DID OKAY BUSINESS WORLDWIDE, BUT FAILED to CATCH ON with AMERICAN CRITICS or AUDIENCES, and (HAVING BEEN RELEASED 8 YEARS AGO) WAS ALL BUT FORGOTTEN by NOW.

SO, NATURALLY, UNIVERSAL WAS COMPELLED to MAKE ANOTHER ONE. AND, CHASING AFTER the LAW of DIMINISHING RETURNS, THEY NATURALLY HAD to SPEND EVEN MORE MONEY THIS TIME: THE BUDGET for JOHNNY ENGLISH RE-BORN IS ESTIMATED to BE $45 MILLION.

AMONG THIS FILM's PROBLEMS ARE:

1) THE JAMES BOND FILMS BEING "SATIRIZED" HERE HAVE, AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARs as a FRANCHISE, BECOME SATIRES of THEMSELVES -- SO THERE's REALLY NO JOKE HERE.

2) ROWAN ATKINSON, BEST KNOWN to AMERICAN AUDIENCES (IF, INDEED, HE's KNOWN AT ALL) for MR. BEAN and THE BLACK ADDER, IS DECIDEDLY an "ACQUIRED TASTE" -- AMERICANS EITHER FIND HIM FUNNY or WE DON'T...and MOST AMERICANS SEEM to BE in the "DON'T" CAMP.

3) THE "HUMOR" in THESE FILMS, WHICH ASPIRES to BE on the SAME LEVEL as PETER SELLERS' INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU -- ENDS UP CLOSER to THOSE AWFUL, RAZZIE® NOMINATED STEVE MARTIN PINK PANTER REMAKE(s).

WHEN YOU ADD ALL of THIS UP, WHAT YOU HAVE IS a MOVIE WITH FEW REASONS to HAVE EVEN BEEN MADE in the FIRST PLACE -- and THERE's CLEARLY NO REASON to BOTHER RELEASING IT in the U.S.

WHILE FOISTING PRODUCT into the MARKETPLACE for WHICH THERE IS CLEARLY NO MARKET IS HARDLY a CRIME, IT IS the KIND of GALLUMPHING GOOBER-HEADED-NESS THAT the RAZZIES® WERE CREATED to DIS-HONOR.

IF YOU'RE ONE of THOSE WHO HAVE "ACQUIRED" a TASTE for JOHNNY ENGLISH and/or ROWAN ATKINSON, FEEL FREE to CLICK HERE and EXPRESS YOUR DISAGREEMENT. IF YOU'RE in the "DON'T" CAMP, the SAME LINK WILL GIVE YOU the CHANCE to AGREE...

ATKINSON: "They warned me this might get a cold

reception in the U.S. but..."

]]>