Dudley Do-Right (1999) Universal/Comedy RT: 77 minutes Rated PG (mild comic action violence, brief language and innuendo) Director: Hugh Wilson Screenplay: Hugh Wilson Music: Steve Dorff Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin Release date: August 27, 1999 (US) Cast: Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alfred Molina, Eric Idle, Robert Prosky, Alex Rocco, Jack Kehler, Louis Mustillo, Don Yesso, Jed Rees, Brant von Hoffman, Corey Burton (narrator), Dyllan Christopher, Ashley Yarman, Jeremy Bergman. Box Office: $9.9M (US)
Rating: *
No, Dudley Done-Wrong, VERY wrong! It might be corny, but it’s the only way to describe the live-action adaptation of Dudley Do-Right. Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle), in his second movie based on a Jay Ward cartoon, plays the cheerful and upright but dimwitted Canadian Mountie forever in pursuit of the villainous Snidely Whiplash (Molina, Boogie Nights). I liked the original cartoon shorts which were part of The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show. I don’t like the live-action version. It neither amuses nor entertains. It only reminds us, as if we needed reminding, that not all cartoons should receive the LA treatment. It’s almost as bad as Mr. Magoo.
Nobody can ever accuse Dudley Do-Right of not having a plot. It has one, but it’s crammed into the first 15-20 minutes. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll lay it out for you. Snidely Whiplash creates a creates a false gold rush in order to attract prospectors to “Whiplash City” (formerly Semi-Happy Valley) where he plans to get rich by fleecing the newcomers. That is, after he frightens off the locals with rumors of vampires lurking in the dark. Of course, our hero is dumb enough to believe Snidely’s story.
The next 40-45 minutes of Dudley Do-Right consists of endless scenes of Snidely constantly getting the better of Dudley, both professionally and personally. He gets the Mountie fired after he takes his concerns to a corrupt politician in Snidely’s pocket. They both love the same girl, Nell Fenwick (Parker, Hocus Pocus), who’s back in town after getting an Ivy League education, seeing the world and serving as US Ambassador to Guam. At one point, hero and foe have a literal tug-of-war with fickle Nell in the middle. Then comes the inevitable moment when Dudley turns the tables on Snidely by doing battle on the villain’s own wicked terms. It leads to a final showdown that also involves a group of local natives called “The Kumquat Tribe”.
It could be argued that one star is far too generous a rating for Dudley Do-Right. I wanted to give it a lower rating. Technically, it deserves it. Directed by Hugh Wilson (Police Academy), it strains for laughs without eliciting a single one. It is colossally unfunny. Its attempts at slapstick are clunky and forced. It’s not funny the first time Dudley steps on a loose floorboard and gets slammed in the face let alone the tenth time. The same goes for the many hits our hero receives to the head, groin and other parts of the body. While the original source was never known for its intellectual content, the movie is just plain stupid. It contains none of the wit Jay Ward injected into the cartoons. At only 77 minutes, Dudley Do-Right is dull. While the hero fights the villain on-screen, the viewer fights to stay awake off-screen. However, this is a fight he/she won’t mind losing.
So why a full star for Dudley Do-Right? It has one or two semi-bright spots. The first is Parker as Nell. She has this wide-eyed charm I find appealing. I could call the makers out for changing her character from a ditzy damsel-in distress to a ditzy liberated woman. I realize such a revision is inevitable in this post-feminist age, but I missed the obligatory scene of Dudley rescuing Nell after Snidely ties her to the railroad tracks. Either way, Parker is the movie’s sole source of appeal. The other not-terrible part is a well-choreographed dance number featuring Dudley and Snidely vying for the attentions of Nell while a group of older locals sings “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind”. It’s the only time when Dudley Do-Right doesn’t trip over itself. The rest is just painful.
Although he tries to bring the same goofy sensibility to Dudley that he did George of the Jungle, Fraser doesn’t quite hit the mark. He spends most of the movie walking around with a big dopey grin on his face. That is, when he’s not falling over something or getting hit with some object. Molina’s portrayal of Snidely Whiplash is forced at best. He looks like he’s pretending to have fun with the role. In reality, he’s probably thinking about firing his agent for allowing him to sign on for this mess (and it IS a mess).
Eric Idle (of Monty Python) is simply wasted here as the poor prospector who first “discovers” gold in Semi-Happy Valley. He becomes rich and famous, even appearing on Regis & Kathie Lee. Later, he becomes Jedi Master to Dudley at his lowest point. He’s better than the material deserves. The same can be said of Robert Prosky (Mrs. Doubtfire) who shows up in a few scenes as Dudley’s boss and Nell’s father. As for Dudley’s horse “Horse” at least he had the good sense to run away early on and remain absent for most of the movie. Talk about good old-fashioned horse sense.
More than two decades later, I still can’t believe it cost $70 million to make Dudley Do-Right. Was it really necessary to dump that much money into it? Even worse, it appears to be the victim of post-production cutting as evidenced by its scant running time. The final nail is this DOA comedy’s coffin is the late August release date. Basically, Dudley Do-Right is an expensive dump movie. I’m surprised the studio actually screened it beforehand. I saw it at a prerelease screening and all I got out of it was the sense of loss that comes with wasting a perfectly good Saturday morning that would have been better spent sleeping in. They should have called this one what it is, Dudley Doo-Doo.
