Furry Vengeance

Essentially a live-action cartoon pitting woodland critters against intrusive humans, Furry Vengeance stars Brendan Fraser (going the full slapstick route) as Dan Sanders, a nicer version of Elmer Fudd. An executive in a building firm, Dan has relocated his family—wife Tammy (Brooke Shields) and teenage son Tyler (Matt Prokop)—to a secluded site in Oregon to supervise a supposedly “green” housing development. But the construction work arouses the hostility of the forest creatures—led by a particularly inventive raccoon—who devise elaborate contrivances to harass Dan and derail the project. Kids may enjoy Dan's comic interactions with the animals (real, instead of animatronic), but the relentless onslaught of gags—including far too many potty jokes and crotch attacks—eventually becomes numbing, while the characterization of Dan's egomaniacal Asian boss (Ken Jeong) seems tastelessly stereotypical. Right on cue, director Roger Kumble shifts gears near the end, with a repentant Dan seeing the error of his ways and joining the four-footed saboteurs. While Furry Vengeance might have worked as a three-minute Looney Tunes short, when dragged out past 90, it will test even young viewers' patience. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director Roger Kumble, and costars Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields), the production featurettes “The Pitfalls of Pratfalls” (10 min.) and “Working with Animals” (9 min.), deleted scenes (6 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)