 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough.
The Animal (M), Directed By Luke Greenfield
 Animal urges: Rob Schnider and friend in The Animal.
The Animal may not go down in history as the funniest film ever made, but hey, it's doing a lot better than a lot of the other so-called comedies I've endured lately. At least it made me laugh several times – actually, quite a lot!
Of course comedy is very much a matter of personal taste. One man's Jim Carrey is another man's Pauly Shore… (who?)
Therefore if you sat through the trailer for The Animal and watched Rob Schnider (of Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo fame) catch a frisbee, out-flipper Flipper and hump a mailbox, but didn't even crack a smile (unlike the mailbox, which looked very happy) then perhaps this film isn't your cup of tea.
I'd be the first to admit it's stupid. The whole concept of somebody surviving a horrendous car crash only to be found, barely alive, by a mad scientist (Hahn drinker Michael Caton) who replaces his mangled organs with animal parts, is stupid.
What makes it funny is when our hero Marvin Mange (Schnider), who has no memory of the accident or subsequent surgery, finds himself succumbing to animal urges he has no control over. This wannabe cop, who has never been able to make the grade before, suddenly finds he can run faster than a horse and sniff out illegal drugs even when they're hidden where the sun don't shine!
The upside is that he's made a police officer. The downside is he's likely to be arrested for molesting Nanny goats.
But the girl who brings out the beast in Marvin is Rianna (Survivor contestant Colleen Haskell), an animal lover who finds his unusual behaviour endearing (and obviously doesn't have a problem with body hair).
Everything's sweet, until the mutilated bodies start turning up...
I shudder to think where this film could have gone. After all, the subject matter does lend itself to some pretty sick situations.
Thankfully scriptwriters Schnider and Tom Brady have kept it ‘silly and bizarre', as opposed to ‘gross and sick', and in Marvin they have created a really rather endearing character you can't help rooting for (in the American sense of the word).
Rob Schnider throws himself enthusiastically into the role. This reviewer and her companion were cracking up on numerous occasions.
Park your brain at the door, and enjoy yourself.
Rating: 2 ½ stars
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