ROVIN' AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Copyright © 1999 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved
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Dr. Dolittle 2
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Hey, guess what? A bear that
needs lessons in the birds, bees, and bears knows what goes on in a bathroom. Sex and excretion—a three-word summary of Dr. Dolittle 2,
not to mention too many other recent kid flicks. Where are you now, Lady
and the Tramp, you two warm-hearted pups who made eating spaghetti
erotic? Dr. Dolittle is
cute, Dr. Dolittle is dirty, so Dr. Dolittle is, in fact, the same
old, same old…. I’m sorry if I
sound like a prude, but this is supposed to be a movie you can take the kids to.
On with the show: a raccoon shows up with news that the forest is about
to be destroyed, and the sides take sides.
On the one hand, there is a fat cat (not literally) anti-ecologist
(Jeffrey Jones, with nary a shade of green) and his attorney (Kevin Pollak) and
on the other, a beaver, Dr. D., and their lawyer, coincidentally, the good
doctor’s long-suffering wife (Kristen Wilson).
They wouldn’t have a leg or four to stand on if there weren’t a
female bear living in the forest: aha, a protected species.
A female bear by herself can’t do much to maintain the protected
species, so enter a male bear, a circus performer, and you know what they say
about show biz types. So, Dr. D.
puts in a turn as Dr. Ruth for the thick-coated set… just the thing to take
the tykes to. Oh, did we mention
that everybody, regardless of how many legs, speaks English better than Dr.
Ruth?
The whole business is just so much business, aimed at small children with their
fascination for animals and “poo-poo” jokes, but sinking a little low for
that audience, and way too low for adult tastes.
Oh, it’s hot outside. Take
your inner child, but leave your outer children at home with the babysitter and
cable television.