听 After endless TV runs of Mr Bean, Rowan Atkinson has proved that he's "an inspired physical comedian". His second big screen outing as the tweed-donning doofus was generally better received than the first Bean flick, trading on slapstick shtick rather than fart gags as he travels all over France. The film also did brisk business at home and abroad, raising sacks of cash for Comic Relief.
On The Road Again
Cameras follow Bean and co. on location across the sun-drenched South of France in French Beans. Director Steve Bendelack confesses he's having a lot of "fun", while poor old Atkinson works up a sweat madly cycling after a chicken in a complex chase sequence. The filmmakers tip their hats to French funnyman Jacques Tati, who pulled a similar stunt in Mr Hulot's Holiday (1953) although Atkinson is quick to point out this isn't a remake of that film. (Call off the lawyers!)
Another of Bendelack's favourite scenes finds Bean crashing a premiere party at the Cannes Film Festival. Behind-the-scenes footage sees the staging of this red carpet event, which was shot during the 2006 festival. Willem Dafoe talks about his role as a pretentious art-house filmmaker and pops up again in The Human Bean where cast and crew line up to sing Atkinson's praises. Dafoe reveals he's a big fan of Blackadder and writer Simon McBurney talks about Atkinson's "effortless" ability to make people laugh. The man himself doesn't see it that way, saying that having to carry a film with so much physicality is "quite stressful."
Out And About
Given how tiring the experience was, Atkinson must be a bit irked that so much footage ended up on the cutting room floor. No less than fifteen deleted scenes are included in the extras, featuring more slips, trips and oodles of silly dancing. With seemingly rubber hips, he could surely give David Brent a run for his money in a scene where French buskers gather round and perform a rendition of La Mer. But perhaps the highlight of the batch is Bean miming his high-speed chicken chase for the benefit of French kid Stepan (newcomer Max Baldry).
Obviously this DVD is very much a love it or hate it proposition, but for fans of the TV series, it's the perfect escape on a wet afternoon.
Mr Bean's Holiday DVD is released on Monday 20th August 2007.
