We finally watched Bicentennial Man on PPV yesterday. We never went to see it at the theatre because the commercials made it look like a Mrs. Doubtfire as a play-thing robot instead of as a cross-dressing estranged dad.
We (and especially I) were surprised to discover that Bicentennial Man is more a relatively faithful adaptation of the Asimov I, Robot novels and not a Christmas family movie about a toy robot. I am a long-time fan of sci-fi and I never had an inkling from the trailers and commercials for this movie that it was this kind of treatment of Asimov. If I were a cartoon, my jaw would have hit the carpeted floor by about half-way through the movie.
I think this mismarketing explains some of why Bicentennial Man sort of came and went with little fanfare. I bet the people who saw the commercials and expected a Home Alone type experience left feeling somber and wondering what the heck they just watched. The sci-fi types likely stayed away out of disinterest and fear of seeing Mrs. Doubtfire II: Aluminum Nanny.
As for me, I watched it only because my wife wanted a light, pick-me-up home movie. As the film went on, I became more interested while she became more confused. I read all the Asimov robot books years ago and I never suspected that was what I would be watching on the screen.
This movie is somber, relatively slowly paced and is centered around a basic theme of what constitutes a human, philosophically and legally. My only major knock was the pacing. Some of the scenes really dragged. I was pleased to avoid a long, drawn-out legal battle with lots of onscreen court scenes. Instead, we saw a touching and determined effort by the main character to first develop his humanity and then legally claim it.
I found the passage of time depicted in the film especially emotional, but that's probably just me. I have a hard time with the thought that when a person dies so much is lost, yet the world goes on. Here our robot friend learns the same lesson, and eventually decides he doesn't like it, either. But you have to see for yourself how he addresses his unique situation.
We rated Bicentennial Man a 6, only because it was a bit slow and a tad too somber. I really wish the studios would get their acts together when it comes to marketing films. They need to learn you can't mash a square peg into a round hole no matter how much you want it to be a family feel-good movie. How's that for an awkward turn of phrase?
We (and especially I) were surprised to discover that Bicentennial Man is more a relatively faithful adaptation of the Asimov I, Robot novels and not a Christmas family movie about a toy robot. I am a long-time fan of sci-fi and I never had an inkling from the trailers and commercials for this movie that it was this kind of treatment of Asimov. If I were a cartoon, my jaw would have hit the carpeted floor by about half-way through the movie.
I think this mismarketing explains some of why Bicentennial Man sort of came and went with little fanfare. I bet the people who saw the commercials and expected a Home Alone type experience left feeling somber and wondering what the heck they just watched. The sci-fi types likely stayed away out of disinterest and fear of seeing Mrs. Doubtfire II: Aluminum Nanny.
As for me, I watched it only because my wife wanted a light, pick-me-up home movie. As the film went on, I became more interested while she became more confused. I read all the Asimov robot books years ago and I never suspected that was what I would be watching on the screen.
This movie is somber, relatively slowly paced and is centered around a basic theme of what constitutes a human, philosophically and legally. My only major knock was the pacing. Some of the scenes really dragged. I was pleased to avoid a long, drawn-out legal battle with lots of onscreen court scenes. Instead, we saw a touching and determined effort by the main character to first develop his humanity and then legally claim it.
I found the passage of time depicted in the film especially emotional, but that's probably just me. I have a hard time with the thought that when a person dies so much is lost, yet the world goes on. Here our robot friend learns the same lesson, and eventually decides he doesn't like it, either. But you have to see for yourself how he addresses his unique situation.
We rated Bicentennial Man a 6, only because it was a bit slow and a tad too somber. I really wish the studios would get their acts together when it comes to marketing films. They need to learn you can't mash a square peg into a round hole no matter how much you want it to be a family feel-good movie. How's that for an awkward turn of phrase?