Osmosis Jones

[Craig Marinaro]

Well, Ebert liked it.

His highly descriptive evaluation of the animated bits is: "the journey through the human body undertaken by Dennis Quaid in "Innerspace" (1987), as if it were drawn by Matt Groening ("Life in Hell") on acid."

I'll probably see it either today or over the weekend. From the looks of things, I'd probably be best to steer clear of the popcorn for this one.

-C
Pray for me.

[James Harvey]

How much do you think it will gross this weekend? I say $12 mill.

[The Mad Hatter]

How much it'll "gross?" An appropriate phrase, here...

I'll try to go see it, just for kicks.

[Craig Marinaro]

Well, it was a rainy day, so I figured I'd get it over with and go see it. What did I think? Read on......

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

When will the references to that Matrix stunt end?! *WHEN*?! We’ve all seen it a zillion times! *IT’S NOT…THAT…COOL*!!!

Yeesh.

But other than that, Osmosis Jones was actually quite the enjoyable romp. It’s no Emperor’s New Groove, but it works off the same basic principle as that film (and the opposite principle of this year’s other animated comedy, Shrek)—that often, understatement can be funnier than overstatement.

Sure, there are plenty of jokes relating to rather gross bodily parts and functions. But unlike Shrek, they’re not thrown in just for the sake of disgusting the audience into laughing. It’s a lot more subtle and clever. The animated residents of Frank’s (Bill Murray’s) body take these things for granted, and the humor comes from seeing things through their eyes. Some of the references do fall flat or wind up being too gratuitous to be funny…but the most of the time they’re actually pretty smartly-done.

As with many animated films, the lead character winds up being the least interesting. Rock’s too-cool-for-the-room, jive-talking delivery can get obnoxious at times. It never gets to the point where you feel like killing him or anything, but there were times when I got rather bored with him.

David Hyde Pierce, with his usual blissfully dry delivery, is fabulous, though, and Rock is at his best when he has Pierce to play off of. They’re such perfect opposites, it’s fun to listen to. His Drix was easily my favorite character in the film. A Drixenol cold tablet, he prides himself on knowing the entire statement from the side of the box by heart, and makes it his business to fulfill it to the letter. But Jones teaches him that sometimes you have to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Also amusing are William Shatner, who actually gives one of the more convincing performances I’ve heard from him as the conservative mayor of Frank's body, who insists that Frank’s current unhealthy state of living has served them fine all these years and will continue to in the future; and Ron Howard, as his bleeding-heart liberal challenger, who, in a commercial overlooking the polluted nether-regions of Frank’s body, insists it’s “time for change.”

The animation style is wild, colorful, bouncy, and generally hard to resist. As in TENG, it’s almost as much fun to watch the characters move as it is to listen to them, and that’s the secret of all really good animation. And, like The Simpsons, you really have to pay attention to catch everything that goes on. There’s so many throw-away gags—from background signs to quickly-delivered lines—that you can’t tune out for more than a few seconds without missing something.

The live action bits were astoundingly watchable, but don't expect much else from them. Bill Murray's considerable talents are mostly wasted, and the other live action actors were talentless to begin with. But the live action bits were just the bread to sandwich the meat of the film, so I won't complain too much.

I don’t want to spoil too much—there were a lot of parts that I was really laughing loudly at, but I don’t want to ruin it for…um…everyone, since I doubt anyone’s bothered with it yet. As with both TENG and Shrek, it’s lightweight, but it’s fun. If you liked those films, I’d lay money on the fact that you’ll enjoy this film to some extent.

And since I liked it, I’ll also lay money that it won’t do very well at the box office. ;)

-C

[Anthonynotes]

>>>Well, it was a rainy day, so I figured I'd get it over with and go see it. What did I think? Read on......

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

When will the references to that Matrix stunt end?! *WHEN*?! We’ve all seen it a zillion times! *IT’S NOT…THAT…COOL*!!!

Yeesh.
<<<

Aw, but of *course* it's cool! I mean, the camera....moving around that person...hovering in mid-air...and, uh, did I mention the way that camera *moved*?! I mean, 180 degrees! Uh...and stuff. So there!


Seriously, I kind of have to agree that that "Matrix" bit is getting old (re: seeing it parodied everywhere...last time I saw it: that KWB bumper with the skateboarder and the newspaper and that "Cats and Dogs" movie). But I figure it's like the references that every TV show and whatnot made to "Titanic" a few years ago when *that* was the Latest Big Thing...it'll pass. Soon. I think. Of course, 2001 pop-culture-wise being as interesting as molasses (between the boy bands/stale pop-and-rock music state, the mundaneness of TV/even more mundane fall lineup, cinema overrun with a gazillion sequels, and [outside of the elections/President Bush's first 100 or so days in office] nothing of truly outstanding note on the society level [fads, politics, or otherwise] beyond "business as usual"...), it might take awhile...

-B.

[Jowy Blight]

I'm most likely going to see it this weekend. I hope it turns out to be worth my money.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

I'm sure it will be. For some reason, I wanna see it mostly because of Drix...probably because he has to deal with Osmosis.

[Calhoun07]

I will for sure buy the DVD but won't be rushing to the theater to see it. Given movie tickets are about eight or nine dollars these days, and a DVD is about twenty bucks, I can wait for the DVD. I am not THAT rich.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Nine bucks, eh? My theater's tickets are only $5.50! I know, I'm spoiled.

[Sharklady]

> Seriously, I kind of have to agree that that "Matrix" bit is getting old (re: seeing it parodied everywhere...last time I saw it: that KWB bumper with the skateboarder and the newspaper and that "Cats and Dogs" movie). <

The last time *I* saw it was during Samurai Jack's battle with the destroyer-beetle drones. Tho, mercifully, they only used it once.

BTW: I watched at least part of *every single* Samurai Jack encore that Cartoon Network broadcast. By golly, I just may be in love!

[The Mad Hatter]

Okay, I lied... I didn't see Osmosis Jones, mainly since all of my friends were out of town. I opted to rent the DVD of State & Main instead... very entertaining, very droll.

Oh yeah, I've caught Samauri Jack at least three times already. And the show might be put on the same night as Justice League? That may be too much goodness to handle...