Our Flick of the Week is “Dr. Dolittle,” a needlessly vulgar remake of the 1967 yarn about a general practitioner with the remarkable ability to understand the grunts, barks and coos of animals as speech — and have them understand him.
Of course this should be perfect children’s fare, and there is recent precedent for making a general audience piece with this element. I’m referring to “Babe,” which as time passes becomes an even greater achievement.
“Dr. Dolittle” will draw youngsters, and its PG-13 rating won’t keep them away, but parents should be forewarned that the bulk of the humor involves rectal jokes. The screenwriters offer themselves up as cases of arrested development. Beyond being offensive, comedically it gets tiresome. One of Murphy’s major props with the animals is a rectal thermometer.
I’m surprised the screenwriters didn’t take a rather obvious tack, imagining what life would be like in this media age for a doctor who actually could talk with animals. Talk-show appearances could be hilarious. Judging pet shows might be funny, too.
But there is nothing like that. This “Dr. Dolittle” offers more of a Murphy improv session, one that is not among his best efforts and doesn’t include any of the charm he has displayed in some of his romantic film roles. Rated PG-13. (star) (star)
– OUT OF SIGHT. In a shaggy crime story that runs on, introducing one unimportant supporting character after another, George Clooney plays an incompetent bank robber who draws the interest and the affection of Federal Marshal Jennifer Lopez. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, which explains the plethora of colorful characters, “Out of Sight” lacks an energized “through-line” that would propel the story and sustain our interest in it. In a potboiler like this, it’s a bad sign if midway through one is wondering what it is about. In the absence of an easy explanation, it seems to be about a parade of characters who might qualify for a Quentin Tarantino film, a parade that is more like a mechanical march of tin pop-up targets in a carnival shooting gallery. Or maybe the movie is about George Clooney taking his shirt off, which he does prominently. And Lopez displaying her stunningly shapely body in tight pants. R. (star) (star) 1/2
– = New this week