Movie Review: Flubber

Flubber
Walt Disney Pictures, Great Oaks Entertainment, USA, 1997.

Professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) is trying to save his college's funding with new energy source. He is absent-minded and forgets his own wedding with Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden). The Professor has two robot helpers flying robot Weebo (Jodi Benson) that looks like something from "*batteries not included"  and Weber, a more generic worker robot. His former partner Wilson Croft (Christopher McDonald) stole some of Phil's inventions and profited with them. Wilson tries also take Sara from him.

Professor Philip Brainard

Weebo

Sara

Just before the wedding Phil invents a living rubber thing Flubber. Hoenicker (Raymond J. Barry) is unhappy that the Professor flunked his son Bennett (Wil Wheaton) in chemistry and decides to get revenge. Hoenicker sends goons Smith (Clancy Brown) & Wesson (Ted Levine) to spy on the Professor.

Wilson Croft

Hoenicker

Wesson and Smith

Phil tries to win Sara back by demonstrating the usefulness of Flubber. Possible uses for Flubber are energy source, basketball sneaker additive, and a component of flying car. Soon everyone tries to steal Flubber.

This is a remake of "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961) and produced by John Hughes. Robin Williams tries to be funny but the humour relies too much on "Home Alone" style slapstick and it gets repetitive and dumb. Flubber has fun cartoon-style dance scene but feels otherwise underused as mostly it just bounces around. The film loans some ideas from Hughes' other films such as "Weird Science" when Weebo creates human avatar.  It was also nice idea to have Weebo show video clips to demonstrate her thoughts. The remake does not rise even close to the level of the original but remains as an average kids' film of the era.

Dancing Flubber

Weebo's reaction screen

The good cast feels underused in the generic roles, surprisingly the best role is made by the Weebo robot. Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage worked in the special effects crew. Nancy Olson from the original 1961 film makes a cameo role as Ford Company's secretary.

Ford Company's secretary

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#16. Movie whose main character is working in your dream job: Scientist)

Rating: Bad

Starring: Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Ted Levine, Clancy Brown, Raymond J. Barry, Wil Wheaton, Edie McClurg, Jodi Benson, Leslie Stefanson, Malcolm Brownson, Benjamin Brock, Dakin Matthews, Zack Zeigler, Sam Lloyd, Scott Michael Campbell, Bob Sarlatte, Bob Greene, Tom Barlow, Scott Martin Gershin, Julie Morrison, Antonina Henderson, Elmer J. Howard, J.D. Walker

Director: Les Mayfield