Land of the Lost
From FilmFile
Taglines:
- Right place. Wrong time.
- They said he was crazy. They were wrong.
- Universal Studios Invites You to Get Lost
Contents |
Synopsis
On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell) is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant (Friel) and a redneck survivalist (McBride). In this alternate universe, the trio make friends with a primate named Chaka (Taccone), their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures. Can they all make it back to our world alive, and if so: Will Dr. Marshall can go from zero to hero with his discoveries?
Review
How much you enjoy this film will depend entirely on how amusing you find Will Ferrell. If, like me, you enjoy it when he is let off the leash a bit and runs away with some lines and ideas, finding him naturally funny but occasionally penned in by some directors, then you will probably get more out of this than others will.
Land of the Lost was a TV show in the style of Lost in Space and Land of the Giants back in the early 70s. It told of the Marshall family (Rick, Will and Holly) who find themselves trapped on an alien world with dinosaurs and primative monkey-like races. Each week saw them in the typical adventures, with enemies such as lizard men and the like, whilst they tried to find a way home.
This new version is less a remake, and more a parody of the old series. In is Ferrell plays Rick Marshall, a disgraced scientist with absurd theories about wormholes. He has practically given up on his ideas and research when Holly (Anna Friel sporting the worst accent since Daphne in Frasier) finds him and shows that she shares his theories, and wants to help him find a way to prove them. Their research gets them to a theme-park ride in the middle of nowhere where Will (Danny McBride) ends up getting dragged with them through a waterfall-based wormhole and dumped on a strange, alien world. This world is populated by strange monkey-men, bad-rubber-suited lizard men, and dinosaurs. The group befriend Chaka, one of the monkey-men, and Rick makes an enemy of a T-Rex when he insults the size of their brains. Whilst they explore the strange world, trying to find a way home, they find themselves embroiled in a plot to conquer and destroy...
Some critics have complained about the effects and design of the film. At $100 million budget, it certainly wasn't cheap to make, and yet the costumes are cheesy, the sets look like polystyrene, and the dinosaurs fail to convince in their interactions with the cast. In some scenes it is as though the actors didn't even realise a dinosaur was supposed to be added ot the shot later, and they just act normal. However, the critics who find this an issue must have missed out on one throwaway line when Will asks the others if they are actually seeing anything, wondering why they are not being wowed or surprised by the dinosaurs swooping by (I can't recall the exact words, but that is the general gist). This one line confirms that the film is meant to look cheap and shaky, after all it is a parody of a low-budget Tv show. Once you let yourself get past the look of the film, accepting it as a cheap-looking parody, then you can just enjoy the silliness on-screen.
Ferrell is well and truely at home in this film. It feels as if he is given a fair bit of free-reign on the character of Rick, and his own childish glee and rambling nonsense is scattered throughout the film. Friel plays a stereotypical Brit, with terrible accent included, whilst McBride plays, well, the same character he seems to always play (not that this is a negative thing, he plays it well). The three work well together, and the inclsuion of the horny monkey Chaka gives opportunity for some additional crazy moments (and some of Ferrell's funniest interactions).
So, if you are willing to watch something that looks much cheaper than it was, and want to chuckle away at Ferrell, then check out Land of the Lost. If, however, you have never been much of a Ferrell fan, well this is not going to sway you, nor impress you.
Trivia
- In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Will Ferrell's character, Marshall Willenholly, was named for the first line of the theme song to the original TV series "Land of the Lost" (1974), which names the three main characters: "Marshall, Will, and Holly". In this movie, Will Ferrell plays the first of those characters, Dr. Rick Marshall.
- The original Land of the Lost series was remade in the 1990s, with Timothy Bottoms as the father, although in this version his name was Tom Porter, not Will Marshall. Bottoms and Will Ferrell are both well known for their impersonations of George W. Bush.
- Kathy Coleman and Wesley Eure shot a cameo, but it was cut when the ending was changed.
- The film was originally given an R rating, but was re-rated to PG-13 after cuts where made.
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