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Well…
ok… where do I start? I guess I should
point out that I love Brendan Fraser. I
mean, not in that biblically, but in the
sense that I’ve always found him to
be an immensely strong actor when he chooses
to be serious, and able-bodied adventurer
when fighting mummies and willing to be
silly when swinging from vines into trees.
So for the most part, I make sure to check
out anything he’s in cause there’s
bound to be something I’ll like about
it. But then we come to “Furry Vengeance.”
In “Furry Vengeance,” Fraser
stars as Dan Sanders… the project
manager for a housing project that threatens
to wipe out acres and acres of forest. Needless
to say, the animals aren’t too thrilled
about this and understandably so. Rather
than be relocated (without being paid anything
for their property I might add) the cuddly
little forest creatures use their amazingly
human instincts to strike back.
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It’s like an episode of “When Genius
Animals Go Bad.” Then entire film is pretty
much a set up for gag after gag, pratfall after
pratfall, and painfully attacked genitals after…
well, you get the idea.
Joining Fraser in this ‘ecologically educational
film’ are Brooke Shields and Matt Prokop
as his wife and son, the latter of which is such
an incredible jerk throughout, that it almost
seems out of place when he becomes his father’s
voice of reason towards the end. Ken Jeong also
stars as Dan’s incredibly demanding boss.
Even with this semi-decent cast, “Furry
Vengeance” doesn’t quite hit the mark,
and for the most part I found it to be incredibly
unfunny. There were a handful of laughs, but most
of the humor seemed very forced and I found myself
actually feeling sorry for Fraser having been
a part of it. That and the fact that he looked
just terrible.
Some of the animal antics were amusing, and thankfully
the producers opted not to have them communicate
with human speech. Instead they spoke to each
other in their own ‘languages’, with
little thought balloons popping up to translate
for us. This of course was colored with CGI-enhanced
expressions. Sometimes it was funny, but most
of the time it was just ehhhhhh.
Summit Entertainment released the Bluray for
“Furry Vengeance”, and despite the
films flaws, I cannot complain about the transfer.
The picture is very sharp, and makes the forest
look so lush and real than you almost feel as
though you can step into it. Audio is not perfect,
but the mix works well enough to keep the dialogue
separated from the ambient sounds and music. What
I found most interesting about this release is
a newer format which gives you a Bluray and a
DVD… on the same two-sided disc. This is
the first time I’ve seen this and am wondering
if it will catch on.
Extras on this release include a commentary with
director Roger Kimble and some of the cast. Listening
to it, one gets the impression that they were
actually proud of the finished product. There’s
also a featurette on the pratfall stunts and working
with the animals, as well as a gag reel. Additionally
you’ll find some deleted scenes.
While I’m all in agreement with the ecological
message that “Furry Vengeance” tries
to espouse (humans encroaching on the animals
homes – which I hate), the movie just doesn’t
succeed on delivering it because it just isn’t
funny or serious enough of a film to capture the
attention needed to deliver it properly.
Directed by: Roger Kimble
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ken
Jeung,
Extras: Cast and Crew Commentary; Deleted Scenes;
The Pitfalls of Pratfalls; Working with Animals;
Gag Reel
Specifications: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1), DTS-HD
Master Audio 5.1
Studio: Summit
Release Date: 8/17/2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
http://www.summit-ent.com
We'll give Furry Vengeance (Bluray) a D.
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