Mouse Hunt Reviews

United States, 1997
U.S. Release Date: 12/19/97 (wide)
Running Length: 1:35
MPAA Classification: PG (Cartoon violence, mild profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Christopher Walken, Vicki Lewis, Eric Christmas, Maury Chaykin
Director: Gore Verbinski
Producers: Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig, Bruce Cohen
Screenplay: Adam Rifkin
Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Music: Alan Silvestri
U.S. Distributor: Dreamworks SKG

You have to admire Dreamworks' guts for using a mouse in a direct challenge to Disney's family feature dominance (in fact, not only do they use it, but they make jokes about using it). Unfortunately, that's one of the few admirable things about MouseHunt, a clever but surprisingly stale exercise in tedium that's supposed to pass for a slapstick-laden live cartoon. It's easy to see how the film makers thought they had a winning comedy on their hands, but the fatal flaw is in the design and execution, not the premise.

MouseHunt is Home Alone with a rodent in the place of Macaulay Culkin (which, regardless of how you feel about the child actor, is not an improvement). The Smuntz brothers, Ernie (Nathan Lane) and Lars (Lee Evans), inherit two things from their recently- departed father: a rundown string making business and an even more rundown mansion. Much to their surprise, it turns out that both are worth a lot of money. But, although Lars refuses to sell the business (he made a deathbed promise to his father to keep it in the family), both brothers agree to fix up the house, then auction it off. There's one little problem, however: the mansion is infested by a mouse, and it's an extremely smart, devious, and dangerous little animal. When Ernie and Lars can't get rid of the unwanted pest, and a feline named Catzilla is equally unsuccessful, they call in an exterminator (Christopher Walken). He too turns out to be no match for the "Hitler with a tail."

On an intellectual level, I can appreciate the potential amusement value of a story in which a mouse outwits and beats up a group of inept human beings. The problem is, with all of its physical comedy, this movie is going for a more visceral appeal. To that end, it makes a serious mistake. MouseHunt alienates the audience from all of the on-screen characters, and the distance is so great that it's difficult to care about any of the participants, regardless of whether they're four- legged or two-legged. This lack of involvement caused me to lose interest. It's also never clear whether the film makers' sympathies lie with the cute rodent or the Smuntzes. Who, if anyone, are we supposed to be rooting for?

The film's ambivalent approach saps the life out of any humor. Some of the comic bits are inventive, but they're not funny. The film isn't as lifeless as Mr. Magoo, but I still didn't react more positively than with an occasional smile. Seeing people fall through floors and get snapped by mouse traps is only entertaining if it's properly set up. That's why we laugh when Wile E. Coyote endures physical abuse, but not when the same things happen to Nathan Lane.

Live action cartoons are hit-and-miss affairs (witness the differing quality of the aforementioned Home Alone and Mr. Magoo), and this one is more of a "miss" than a "hit". MouseHunt is a slapsticky 95 minutes filled with dull, obligatory comedy that may amuse children but is unlikely to enthrall adults. The special effects used to create the mouse are effective, with the antics of 60 real-life rodents and one animatronic creature seamlessly edited together by first-time feature director Gore Verbinski, who previously made the Budweiser frog commercials. However, in today's marketplace, that's not much of an achievement. Even Christopher Walken, playing a spoof of his usual creepy self, fails to generate much genuine humor. His performance, like the rest of the picture, seems recycled.

Honestly, I had completely no idea what to expect from this flick but since it was Gore Verbinski’s directing debut, I was rather intrigued so I thought I should give it a try. Indeed, way before reaching box-office stardom with the Pirates of Carribean trilogy, Verbinski directed this flick. To be honest, it is a rather tough sell. Indeed, it seemed rather too quirky for the kids but it seemed also too childish for the grown-ups, the main characters were not portrayed by some huge stars and the story was pretty wacky. Still, even though it was indeed nothing remotely mind-blowing, I thought it actually was not bad at all. Indeed, the whole thing was just really over the top (which is actually a compliment in this case), there were a few funny scenes and, of course, since there was the almighty Christopher Walken in it, it was enough good reason for me to watch this movie and appreciate it for what it’s worth. Indeed, as usual, Walken came out seemingly from nowhere, gave one of this really weird performances and he completely stole the show in a few minutes. Eventually, to conclude, it was definitely nothing great and a little too absurd for my taste but I think it is still worth a look, especially if you wonder how it all started for Gore Verbinski.