''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' is a 2007
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Steve Bendelack
Steve Bendelack is an English filmmaker and television director who has worked primarily on comedy programmes.
Originally an assistant to Peter Fluck and Roger Law on satirical TV puppet show ''Spitting Image'', Bendelack went on to direct the ...
and written by
Hamish McColl
Hamish McColl (born 28 January 1962) is a British comedian, writer and actor. He trained at the École Philippe Gaulier, Paris and the University of Cambridge. With Sean Foley, he formed the double act '' The Right Size'' in 1988, creating co ...
and
Robin Driscoll
Robin Driscoll (born 28 June 1951) is an English actor and writer. He is best known as a writer of ''Mr. Bean'' episodes with his close friend Rowan Atkinson.
He and Atkinson appeared in '' Funny Business'' (1992). As an actor, Driscoll appe ...
, from a story penned by
Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatre and opera director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Complicité, Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manch ...
. Based on the
British sitcom
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...
series ''
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...
'' created by
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...
and
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...
, it is a
standalone sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to
''Bean'' (1997). The film stars Atkinson as
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...
, with
Maxim Baldry
Maxim Alexander Baldry is an English film and television actor. He began his career as a child actor in the film ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' (2007). More recently, he is known for his roles in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2016–2017) and m ...
,
Emma de Caunes,
Willem Dafoe
William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...
and
Karel Roden
Karel Roden (born 18 May 1962) is a Czech actor, popularly known for his roles in ''Hellboy'' and '' The Bourne Supremacy'', and his voice work in ''Grand Theft Auto IV''.
Life and career
Roden followed his father and grandfather into acting. ...
in supporting roles. In the film, Mr. Bean wins a trip to
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, but on his way there, he is mistaken for a kidnapper and meets an award-winning filmmaker after he travels with both a Russian filmmaker's son and an aspiring actress in tow.
Produced by
StudioCanal
StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...
,
Working Title Films
Working Title Films Limited, formerly Visionensure Limited and Working Title Limited, is a British film and television production company that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by ...
and
Tiger Aspect Films, the film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2007 and in the United States on 24 August 2007 by
Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. It received mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success, grossing $232.2 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.
Plot
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...
wins a holiday trip to
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
, a
video camera
A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos, as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film. Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of other ...
, and €200 in a raffle. Upon arriving in France, Bean causes chaos while trying
French seafood
Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...
cuisine at
Le Train Bleu
The ''Calais-Mediterranée Express'' was a French luxury night express train which operated from 1886 to 2003. It gained international fame as the preferred train of wealthy and famous passengers between Calais and the French Riviera during the ...
and asks Russian film director Emil Duchevsky to film him boarding his train using his video camera at the
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris Gare de Lyon (), is one of the seven large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and ...
. However, the two keep doing retakes at Bean's request until the train leaves with Bean and Duchevsky's son, Stepan, onboard and Duchevsky left behind.
Bean and Stepan bond and get off together at the next station, which Duchevsky's train passes through without stopping; Duchevsky holds up a sign with a mobile phone number written on it for Stepan to call, but inadvertently obscures the last two digits. After Bean unsuccessfully calls the number with various combinations of digits in place of the unknown ones, another train arrives and the two get on. They are promptly ejected in
Cavaillon
Cavaillon (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. as Bean had accidentally left his wallet, passport and ticket at the previous stop.
To earn money, Bean busks as a mime and buys himself and Stepan food and bus tickets to Cannes. However, Bean's ticket is caught in the wind and eventually stuck on the foot of a chicken, which is then packed into a farmer's truck. Bean chases the vehicle via bicycle to a farm, where he is unable to locate his ticket due to the large number of chickens there. Following an unsuccessful hitchhiking attempt, he continues his journey alone on foot. Sometime later, Bean awakes on the set of an elaborate yogurt commercial directed by American filmmaker Carson Clay and starring aspiring actress Sabine, in which a quaint French village is under attack from
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
soldiers. Mistaken for an extra, Bean briefly stars in the commercial as one of the soldiers before being dismissed for showing his video camera in the advert, and accidentally causes the set to explode while recharging his camera.
Continuing to hitchhike, Bean is picked up by a
Mini
The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
identical to his own driven by Sabine, who is on her way to the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, where her debut film directed by Clay, ''Playback Time'', is to be presented. They stop at a service station, where Bean reunites with Stepan. Sabine takes him with them, believing Stepan to be Bean's son. The next morning, the trio arrive in Cannes thanks to Bean driving through the night after Sabine falls asleep.
At a petrol station, Sabine sees on the news that she and Bean are suspected of kidnapping Stepan. In a rush to ''Playback Times premiere, rather than head to the police to clear the misunderstandings, she has Bean and Stepan disguised as her mother and daughter to avoid detection at the festival. During the premiere, the audience shows complete disinterest in ''Playback Time'', which centers on a homicide detective's pining for a lost love. Sabine discovers that her role has been cut, prompting Bean to plug his video camera into the projector and replace the film's visuals with his video diary. The footage aligns well with the film's narration to present Sabine as the hero's lost love and Bean as her new lover. Clay, Sabine and Bean all receive a standing ovation, which becomes more enthusiastic when Stepan is reunited with his parents onstage.
Bean exits through the theatre's back door and finally arrives at the
Cannes beach as desired, where he, Sabine, Stepan, Clay, and other people mime to the song "
La Mer".
Cast

*
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...
as
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...
*
Emma de Caunes as Sabine
*
Maxim Baldry
Maxim Alexander Baldry is an English film and television actor. He began his career as a child actor in the film ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' (2007). More recently, he is known for his roles in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2016–2017) and m ...
as Stepan Duchevsky
*
Willem Dafoe
William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...
as Carson Clay
*
Jean Rochefort
Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999.
Life and career
Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to ...
as the
Maître d'Hôtel
The ; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d'' ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcom ...
*
Karel Roden
Karel Roden (born 18 May 1962) is a Czech actor, popularly known for his roles in ''Hellboy'' and '' The Bourne Supremacy'', and his voice work in ''Grand Theft Auto IV''.
Life and career
Roden followed his father and grandfather into acting. ...
as Emil Duchevsky
*
Steve Pemberton
Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC's ''The League of Gentlemen'' with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also ...
as The Vicar
*
Catherine Hosmalin
Catherine Hosmalin is a French actress.
Personal life
While promoting the movie "Mince Alors", Hosmalin told to Laurent Ruquier in ''On n'est pas couché'' : "It's not easy to be big. I would like to lose weight but at the same time it's me, ...
as
Ticket Inspector
*
Urbain Cancelier
Urbain Cancelier (born 2 August 1959) is a French comedian and actor, primarily known for his collaborations with French film director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and for playing Collignon in '' Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''.
Career
As a theate ...
as
Bus driver
A bus driver, bus operator, or bus captain is a person who drives buses for a living.
Description
Bus drivers must have a special license above and beyond a regular driver's licence. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus st ...
*
Stéphane Debac
Stéphane Debac (born 23 October 1973) is a French actor, best known for his acting debut as Jerome for South Korean Dogme 95 film ''Interview'' (2000), and played as 'Albert Mulveau' in the French TV series '' Résistance''.
Career
He was born ...
as Traffic Controller
*
Julie Ferrier as The First AD
* Lily Atkinson as Lily
Production
Plans for a second ''
Mr. Bean
''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...
'' film were first revealed in February 2001, when
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...
- who was filming ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
'' at the time - was lured into developing a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to ''
Bean
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...
'' (1997), from a script written by ''Mr. Bean'' co-creator
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...
that would have followed Mr. Bean heading to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
under the
working title
A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...
''Down Under Bean''. No further announcements regarding the film were made until early 2005.
In March 2005, the film was officially announced, then titled ''Bean 2'', with
Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatre and opera director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Complicité, Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manch ...
, co-founder and artistic director of the
Théâtre de Complicité theatre company, writing the film's script. McBurney chose to set the film in France because it was a place where the visual-oriented Mr. Bean would not be expected to talk much, due to his limited knowledge of French.
In December of that year, Atkinson announced that he would script the film himself alongside Curtis, though the final screenplay was instead written by
Robin Driscoll
Robin Driscoll (born 28 June 1951) is an English actor and writer. He is best known as a writer of ''Mr. Bean'' episodes with his close friend Rowan Atkinson.
He and Atkinson appeared in '' Funny Business'' (1992). As an actor, Driscoll appe ...
(a writer on the TV series) and
Hamish McColl
Hamish McColl (born 28 January 1962) is a British comedian, writer and actor. He trained at the École Philippe Gaulier, Paris and the University of Cambridge. With Sean Foley, he formed the double act '' The Right Size'' in 1988, creating co ...
, while McBurney wrote the film's story and served as one of the
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
s on the film alongside Curtis.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
for the film began on 15 May 2006 and took place on location across
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, particularly during the
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-wai served as jury president for the main competition, the first Chinese to preside over the jury. English filmmaker Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or for th ...
. At that point, the film's title was changed from ''Bean 2'' to ''French Bean'', and later to ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'', a reference to the 1953 French comedy film ''
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday'', which served as an inspiration for the character of Mr. Bean.
Mr. Bean saying "Gracias" to French people was inspired by McBurney's great uncle, who told McBurney's father that he had no trouble with the language barrier during his tour of Europe because he knew the essential French word "Gracias".
[
Atkinson said that despite the great length of time since he had last portrayed Mr. Bean, he had no trouble getting back into the character. Atkinson reflected in 2022 that since he was neither an athlete nor a cyclist, he found the cycling sequence to be the most difficult thing he had ever done as Mr. Bean.
]
Music
The film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
was composed and conducted by Howard Goodall
Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was name ...
, who also composed the original ''Mr. Bean'' series, although the original ''Mr. Bean'' theme was unused. In contrast to the series' use of simple musical repetitions, the film uses a symphonic orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...
, which is a sophisticated score that features catchy leitmotif
A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
s for particular characters or scenes. The film's theme song was a cover of the Primitives
The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash (The Primitives song), Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throu ...
' song " Crash" by Matt Willis
Matt Willis (born 8 May 1983) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He is known as co-founder, bassist and co-vocalist of the pop-punk band Busted (band), Busted. Willis released his debut solo album ''Do ...
.
OEDO-808 by Pistol Valve is used for the Japanese release.
Release
Theatrical
''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' served as the official film for Red Nose Day 2007
''Red Nose Day 2007'' was a fund raising event in England organized by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 16 March 2007 to early the following morning. It was part of "The Big One" campaign. Presenters intr ...
, with money made from the film going to the telethon's charity Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
. Prior to the film's release, a new and exclusive Mr. Bean sketch titled ''Mr. Bean's Wedding'' was broadcast on the telethon for Comic Relief on BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
on 16 March 2007.
The official premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
of the film took place at the Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
on Sunday, 25 March and helped to raise money for both Comic Relief and the Oxford Children's Hospital. Universal Pictures released a teaser trailer
A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...
for the film in November 2006 and launched an official website online the following month.
Home media
''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' was released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and HD DVD
HD DVD (short for High Density Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. on 27 November 2007, and on Blu-ray on 16 April 2019.
Reception
Box office
''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' opened in the United States on 24 August 2007 alongside ''War
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
'' and '' The Nanny Diaries'', and grossed $9,889,780 in its opening weekend while playing in 1,714 theaters, with a $5,770 per-theater average and ranking fourth at the box office. The film then closed on 18 October 2007 with a final domestic gross of $33,302,167 and a final international gross of $198,923,741. Culminating in a worldwide total of $232,225,908, the film has become commercially successful considering its $25 million budget. The film was released in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on 30 March 2007 and topped the country's box office for the next two weekends, before being dethroned by ''Wild Hogs
''Wild Hogs'' is a 2007 American biker road comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007 to negativ ...
''.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on 115 reviews with an average rating of 5.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' means well, but good intentions can't withstand the 90 minutes of monotonous slapstick and tired, obvious gags." On Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 56 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
film critic Paul Arendt gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying that, "It's hard to explain the appeal of Mr. Bean. At first glance, he seems to be moulded from the primordial clay of nightmares: a leering man-child with a body like a tangle of tweed-coated pipe cleaners and the gurning, window-licking countenance of a suburban sex offender. It's a testament to Rowan Atkinson's skill that, by the end of the film he seems almost cuddly." Philip French
Philip Neville French (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film critic. H ...
of ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' referred to the character of Mr. Bean as a "dim-witted sub- Hulot loner" and said the plot involves Atkinson "getting in touch with his retarded inner child". French also said "the best joke (Bean on an old bike riding faster than a team of professional cyclists) is taken directly from Tati's '' Jour de Fete''." Wendy Ide of ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said "It has long been a mystery to the British, who consider Bean to be, at best, an ignoble secret weakness, that Rowan Atkinson's repellent creation is absolutely massive on the Continent
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...
." Ide said parts of the film are reminiscent of '' City of God'', ''The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' (stylised as ''the Straight story'') is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with ...
'' and said two scenes are "clumsily borrowed" from ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure
''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. The film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, along with Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger and Judd O ...
''. Ide also wrote that the jokes are weak and one gag "was past its sell-by date ten years ago".
Steve Rose of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that the film was full of awfully weak gags, and "In a post-Borat
''Borat'' (also known as ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'') is a 2006 mockumentary directed by Larry Charles, which stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhs, Kazakh jou ...
world, surely there's no place for Bean's antiquated fusion of Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...
, Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comedy character created and portrayed by the American comedian Paul Reubens. He starred in films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an ...
and John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
?", while Colm Andrew of the ''Manx Independent
The ''Manx Independent'' is a tabloid weekly newspaper in the Isle of Man. It is published every Friday.
It is owned by Isle of Man Newspapers, which is now part of Tindle Newspapers.
Its sister weekly newspapers are the '' Isle of Man Cour ...
'' said "the flimsiness of the character, who is essentially a one-trick pony, starts to show" and his "continual close-up gurning into the camera" becomes tiresome. Peter Rainer of ''The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'' gave the film a "B" and said, "Since Mr. Bean rarely speaks a complete sentence, the effect is of watching a silent movie with sound effects. This was also the dramatic ploy of the great French director-performer Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...
, who is clearly the big influence here." Amy Biancolli of the ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, saying "Don't mistake this simpleton hero, or the movie's own simplicity, for a lack of smarts. ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' is quite savvy about filmmaking, landing a few blows for satire." Biancolli said the humour is "all elementally British and more than a touch French. What it isn't, wasn't, should never attempt to be, is American. That's the mistake made by Mel Smith
Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smi ...
and the ill-advised forces behind 1997's '' Bean: The Movie''."
Ty Burr of ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' wrote, "Either you'll find tkinsonhilarious—or he'll seem like one of those awful, tedious comedians who only thinks he's hilarious." Burr also said "There are also a few gags stolen outright from Tati", but concluded "Somewhere, Jacques Tati is smiling." Tom Long of ''The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...
'' said, "Watching 90 minutes of this stuff—we're talking broad, broad comedy here—may seem a bit much, but this film actually picks up steam as it rolls along, becoming ever more absurd." and also "Mr. Bean offers a refreshingly blunt reminder of the simple roots of comedy in these grim, overly manufactured times."
Suzanne Condie Lambert of ''The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain.
History
Early years
The newspap ...
'' wrote, "Atkinson is a gifted physical comedian. And the film is a rarity: a kid-friendly movie that was clearly not produced as a vehicle for selling toys and video games", but also said that "It's hard to laugh at a character I'm 95 percent sure is autistic
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
." Lawrence Toppman of ''The Charlotte Observer
''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...
'' gave the film 2½ stars out of 4 and said "If you like he character
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
you will certainly like ''Mr. Bean's Holiday,'' a 10-years-later sequel to ''Bean.'' I found him intermittently funny yet almost unrelentingly creepy", and also "Atkinson doesn't have the deadpan elegance of a Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
or the wry, gentle physicality of a Jacques Tati (whose '' Mr. Hulot's Holiday'' inspired the title). He's funniest when mugging shamelessly..."
Ruthe Stein of the ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' said that "the disasters instigated by Bean's haplessness quickly become tiresome and predictable" but said that one scene later in the film "is worth sticking around for". Elizabeth Weitzman of the ''New York Daily News
The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said "If you've never been particularly fond of Atkinson's brand of slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
, you certainly won't be converted by this trifle." and also "If the title sounds familiar, it's because Atkinson intends his movie to be an homage to the 1953 French classic '' Mr. Hulot's Holiday.'' Mr. Hulot was played by one of the all-time great physical comedians, Jacques Tati, and that movie is a genuine delight from start to finish. This version offers a few laughs and an admirable commitment to old-fashioned fun." Phil Villarreal of the ''Arizona Daily Star
The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tucson, Arizona, and owned by Lee Enterprises. It serves Tucson and surrounding districts of Southern Arizona in the United States.
History 1877–1925
L. C. Hughes was the ...
'' gave the film 2 stars and said "If you've seen 10 minutes of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean routine, you've seen it all", and "The Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
stuff is a bit out of place in a G-rated
The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...
movie. Or any movie, really", later calling Atkinson "a has-Bean". Claudia Puig of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' gave the film 1½ stars out of 4 and said "If you've been lobotomized
A lobotomy () or leucotomy is a discredited form of Neurosurgery, neurosurgical treatment for mental disorder, psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy, Depression in childhood and adolescence, depression) that involves sev ...
or have the mental age of a kindergartener, ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' is viable comic entertainment" and also, "The film, set mostly in France, pays homage to Jacques Tati, but the mostly silent gags feel like watered-down Bean."
Accolades
Max Baldry was nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor at the 29th Young Artist Awards in 2008. The film was nominated as ''Comedy or Musical and Best Comedy'' at the First National Movie Awards in 2007.
See also
* List of films featuring fictional films
A body of films feature fictional films as part of their narrative. These are also called films within films.
List of films
See also
*Story within a story
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*{{cite news , last=Rapold , firs ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Bean's Holiday
2007 films
2007 comedy films
2000s comedy road movies
2000s children's comedy films
British comedy road movies
British children's comedy films
British sequel films
2000s French-language films
2000s Russian-language films
Films about film directors and producers
Films about vacationing
Films based on television series
Films produced by Tim Bevan
Films produced by Eric Fellner
Films set in Cannes
Films set in France
Films set in London
Films set in Paris
Films set in a movie theatre
Films set on beaches
Films shot in France
Films shot in London
Cannes Film Festival
Mr. Bean
Camcorder films
Rail transport films
StudioCanal films
Working Title Films films
Tiger Aspect Productions films
Universal Pictures films
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
Sequel films to television series