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Rex Harrison famously endured getting urinated upon by real sheep during the filming of the 1967 musical \u201cDoctor Dolittle,\u201d while the 2020 version of \u201cDolittle\u201d sees Robert Downey Jr. removing bagpipes from a CG dragon\u2019s rectum before receiving a faceful of gastric wind as a reward.<\/p>\n
Whichever actor had it worse, it\u2019s the audience who loses. Downey\u2019s revival of Hugh Lofting\u2019s legendary loquacious veterinarian, one who can communicate with any member of any species, splats onto the screen like horse dung, with few laughs and no charm. Even the actor\u2019s legendary charisma, which this project sorely needed, gets tamped down by making a depressed widower the hero of a kiddie movie and by having that widower mumble in an accent that\u2019s possibly Welsh, perhaps Irish, maybe Scottish, but definitely the enemy of comedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDolittle\u201d doesn\u2019t have a fraction of the verve of the similarly misguided \u201cCats,\u201d but it does share with that movie a staggering amount of \u201cWhat were they thinking?\u201d decisions, first and foremost is the idea of setting the film in the Victorian era but having the doctor\u2019s chatty menagerie speak exclusively in 21st century online sass. (And it\u2019s not just the animals; Michael Sheen\u2019s villain at one point yells, \u201cRead the room!\u201d at an underling.)<\/p>\n
Watch Video:<\/strong> ‘Dolittle’ Trailer: Robert Downey Jr and His Talkative Animal Friends Are on a Mission to Save a Queen<\/p>\n It took four writers, including director Stephen Gaghan (\u201cSyriana,\u201d \u201cGold\u201d), to cook up a tedious saga whereby Dr. John Dolittle (Downey) \u2014 shut off from the world since the death of his wife, an explorer \u2014 is coaxed back into it by the arrival of two kids: Stubbins (Harry Collett), an animal-lover who wants to become Dolittle\u2019s apprentice, and Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado, FX\u2019s \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d), Queen Victoria\u2019s lady-in-waiting, who hopes the physician can cure the severely ailing monarch.<\/p>\n Dolittle travels to Buckingham Palace, where he determines that the queen (Jessie Buckley, \u201cWild Rose\u201d) has been poisoned by deadly nightshade, and the only cure is the fruit of the Eden Tree, the mythical plant that Dolittle\u2019s wife died trying to find. With some coaxing from parrot Poly (voiced by Emma Thompson), Dolittle accepts Stubbins as a first mate, and they\u2019re off on a sea adventure and grappling with the villainous plots of Blair M\u00fcdfly (Sheen) and Lord Thomas Badgley (Jim Broadbent) \u2014 the conspirators who poisoned Victoria in the first place \u2014 and pirate King Rassouli (Antonio Banderas, with heavily kohl-rimmed eyes), who has his own reasons for hating Dolittle.<\/p>\n Also Read:<\/strong> Can ‘Bad Boys for Life’ Succeed for Sony Where ‘MIB: International’ Failed?<\/p>\n There\u2019s maybe one set piece (involving whale communication and assistance) that works, and one gag that pays off (involving \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d so you know the kids will love it), but for the most part, \u201cDolittle\u201d remains as semi-comatose as Queen Victoria. There\u2019s a constant flurry of hubbub and incident, and the animals are voiced by an impressive array of slumming A-listers \u2014 including Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Marion Cotillard, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Selena Gomez, John Cena and Kumail Nanjiani \u2014 but none of them get anything particularly funny to say or do unless you think the idea of an ostrich with daddy issues or a tiger with a mommy complex are the height of comedy.<\/p>\n The film\u2019s visual effects are seamless until they aren\u2019t (Poly\u2019s bright plumage against Dolittle\u2019s gloomy, vine-covered home is a shock to the eyeballs), and editor Craig Alpert (\u201cDeadpool 2\u201d) tries but ultimately fails to cut through the sluggishness of the proceedings. The opening sequence involves 2-D animation with narration by Thompson; doing the entire movie that way would have been far more fun to watch.<\/p>\n Also Read:<\/strong> Robert Downey Jr to Return as Iron Man in Disney+ Animated Series ‘What If?,’ Jeff Goldblum Says<\/p>\n While the voice actors sparkle to the best of their ability, what we\u2019re left with on-screen are two young performers who have been directed to lean into kid-actor cuteness opposite Downey\u2019s weird ravings, which seem to have come from another (also not very good) movie. Broadbent, at least, appears to be entertaining himself by going full Colonel Blimp; the less-fortunate Buckley picks up a paycheck for what amounts to a well-dressed nap.<\/p>\n By the time Dolittle enters the dragon, \u201cDolittle\u201d has exhausted the goodwill of most viewers. Fans of Rex Harrison and Eddie Murphy don\u2019t generally mention \u201cDoctor Dolittle\u201d as a career highlight for either actor, and Downey\u2019s turn here will eventually generate similar silence. He can talk to the animals, but let\u2019s not talk about it.<\/p>\n Read original story \u2018Dolittle\u2019 Film Review: Robert Downey Jr. Can Talk to the Animals, But You\u2019ll Wish He Wouldn\u2019t At TheWrap<\/p>\n<\/div>\n