Scooby Doo Review
by Tim Wick
I think that previews can say something about a film. For instance, the previews before Scooby Doo included such brilliant films as Country Bear Jamboree and a Crocodile Hunter feature film. Both looked so bad, it was hard to believe that Scooby Doo could be anything but a pillar of cinematic brilliance in comparison.
Last year, a bunch of friends went to see Josie and the Pussycats with the expectation that it was going to be awful. Strangely enough, we walked away a little bit shocked by how much we enjoyed the film. Nothing we had seen prepared us for a film that would actually be so much fun. The trailers were awful, the concept looked ill advised and it wasn't as if the film had a great director or writer connected with it. Somehow, the makers of that movie had crafted a clever satirical piece that actually rose above the subject material.
I had no similar hopes for Scooby Doo but I went anyway. Part of me mourned for the fact that I was contributing to the box office take that would exceed the far better The Bourne Identity and futher bury the brilliant Insomnia. Another part of me was going because I can't resist a compelling bad movie.
Was Scooby Doo as bad as all that? Not.....quite.
Oh it was bad all right, but it wasn't quite as bad as I like for my truly bad films. I want something I can rail against without any qualms whatsoever. Sadly, I have a few reservations - a few things that made the film ever so slightly watchable. I'm not telling you to spend your money on the movie - dear god no - But it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
The big plus for this movie is Matthew Lillard's spot on portrayal of Shaggy. Without him, the film would have been completely useless. With him, you have one of the more extraordinary character portrayals in the midst of a mess. The role isn't even written well - it's just that he's so good at playing it you don't notice.
Honestly, the film starts out just about right. We see the Scooby gang solving yet another mystery and having all the familar stuff happen. The brilliant plan gets messed up because it relies on Shaggy and Scooby, Daphne is used as the bait and unltimately the bad guy tells us he would have gotten away with everything if it wasn't for those meddling kids. It's all there and it's all what we expect.
Had the film been smart enough to build on the kitcsh value inherent in the original series, it could have worked. Instead, it tries to inject a serious subplot about teamwork and friendship. I'm all for serious issues in film, but not films titled Scooby Doo. A film about the Scooby gang needs to be funny. I don't want to have them all discover that they really need to work together as a team. Leave that for some other movie about someone I'm not familiar with.
As an afterthought, the film drapes a plot about some evil voodoo cult brainwashing teenagers on an island. The owner of the island is played by a woefully miscast Rowan Atkison, who seems to have needed to have his humor gland removed to play the role.
The island isn't all that important, though. Really we are supposed to be concerned that Fred (Freddie "never cast me in a movie again if you want to make money" Prinze, Jr), Daphne (Sarah Michell Gellar) and Velma (Linda Cardellini) learn that they really like each other. In the midst of what is already a stunted comedy, this toucy feely stuff feels even more out of place.
The less said about the CGI Scooby the better. You want to see good human - animated interaction? Rent Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
The central problem with the movie is not the stupid story or the failure to understand that the movie doesn't need some stupid sappy subplot. The problem lies in the fact that the movie isn't all that funny. I laughed about five times and one of those times I was laughing at the fact the kids in the audience thought kissing was kind of gross. When the audience is more entertaining than the film, you aren't doing too well.
While not completely incompetent. Filmmaking, Scooby Doo is a sloppy, unfulfilling film. No-one seemed to understand they needed to play things over the top or deadly serious. They settle someplace that is no better than in between. The film fails because it can't commit.
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