BEAN

BEAN is generally tame and ultimately moral about David Langley’s family. David is reunited with his wife and children, and he learns to love Bean despite the trouble Bean causes. There are some funny moments, too.

But the movie’s humor and editing may not work for American audiences. Its British, zany style is more goofy than genuinely funny, and the story asks you to follow an irresponsible man who defaces and steals a famous painting without making amends. Profanity, drunkenness, and an invitation to view naked-women pictures also make this less suitable for younger viewers.

This is a reasonable choice for older children and adults who enjoy offbeat slapstick and can handle the content. For most families, wait for home, where you can judge the humor and guide the conversation.

Mr. Bean is a dim-witted, nearly silent worker at London’s National Art Gallery. When his frustrated co-workers send him to Los Angeles to accompany Whistler’s Mother to a newly purchased museum, curator David Langley expects a distinguished guest known as Dr. Bean.

Instead, David and his family discover that Bean is an unpredictable house guest. His visit soon creates trouble for David’s home, family, career, and the famous artwork.

Two stars means BEAN has occasional laughs but does not consistently deliver. Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean is zany and goofy, and the film contains some funny physical moments. Its bathroom humor is less lewd than Jim Carrey’s, with Bean seeming unaware of his foolishness.

Still, the movie’s humor and editing style may confuse or miss American audiences. The slapstick often runs too long, and the comedy can feel plain goofy rather than genuinely funny. It is an offbeat comedy with some charm, but not a particularly strong one.

BEAN presents a light moral worldview in which family is preserved and a person learns to love someone difficult to love. David’s family is strained by Bean’s behavior, but David ultimately values both his family and Bean. That movement toward patience and love is the film’s strongest moral element.

The film also includes an element of avoiding responsibility. Bean causes serious damage to property, yet he escapes the consequences and makes no amends. The story treats his clever solution as a success even though it involves defacing and stealing the original artwork. That weakens the film’s moral perspective on honesty, restitution, and responsibility.

The film’s picture of loving someone difficult can point toward the biblical call to patience: “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other” (Colossians 3:13). But genuine love does not remove the need to confess wrong and make things right.

BEAN has some gentle moral warmth and occasional funny moments, but its humor may not connect, and its irresponsible hero creates problems without making amends. Add profanity, drunkenness, and sexual humor, and this is best saved for home. Our answer is WAIT FOR HOME. For another family movie choice, see.