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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Mouse Hunt
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 out of 4
Review by David Wilcock
1½ stars out of 4
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After the mediocre The Peacemaker (1997) and the interesting if dull Amistad
(1997) Dreamworks tries again to have a hit with this children's movie. They
haven't got a hit on their hands, but Mouse Hunt is entertaining enough to
keep the kids happy. Nathan Lane and Lee Evans play brothers Ernie and Lars
Smuntz, who inherit a string factory, and a very spooky old house, from
father Rudolph (William Hickey.) They discover that the house is built by a
famous architect, and could receive $10 million if they manage to sell it.
However, one thing stands between vast wealth: a tiny mouse. But the chaos
it causes is unbelievable, and the film centres around the two brothers
trying desperately to get rid of the furry pest.
What Dreamworks have churned out is standard slapstick fare, although much
more visually pleasing and darker than most 'Home Alone' type movies. The
house looks really spooky, and really cool. The special effects are also
good, with the mouse looking pretty realistic in the CGI shots. Also, the
wide spread destruction is done well by CGI, and there's a hilarious
animatronic cat, called 'Catzilla' who really is a terrifying beast (almost
too scary for the child sitting next to me in the theater.) The sets are
excellent, with some great art direction, and good cinematography by Phedon
Papamichael. The house and effects, though, were too intense for some
children in the theater (not a good sign for a 'kiddies' film) although most
of them could handle it.
Complementing the comic effects perfectly are Lane and Evans, doing a grand
job working with the effects. Lane is good as the straight man, delivering
lines with perfect timing ("It's Hitler with a tail", he tells Evans on why
they should kill this mouse.) Also, Evans (a popular british comic) is
perfect with physical humour (the filmmakers were probably looking for a
cheap Jim Carrey-a like), and the scene where his clothes get caught in the
string factory machinery is slapstick genius. Christopher Walken makes an
appearance as a near psychotic bug exterminator, and is good fun. The
director, Gore Verbinski, graduating from commercials, fills the screen with
superb visual, and handles the slapstick really well. (The funeral at the
start is brilliant slapstick.)
But, beneath all the comedy, this is one dark movie. There is hardly any
light, it's almost continually raining, the house is spectacularly
forbidding, and some of the scenes (a man choking, then dying, on a
cockroach, the aforementioned Catzilla scene) could be a bit much for
children. Also, some of the jokes fall flat, and it even resorts to having
Lane and Evans just hit each other with frying pans. There are some standout
scenes (a chase inside a piano is genius), but generally, the visual are
aimed for adults, while the jokes are aimed for children. And there are
definitely not enough jokes for adults (unlike recent Disney films, which
try too hard to appeal to adults now-a-days.)
In the end, though, Mouse Hunt is enjoyable enough for kids, and should have
them laughing. Adults, though, should just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Entertaining, but flawed and shallow.
Copyright © 1998 David Wilcock
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