Movie review: Don’t bother with “Land of the Lost”
By Karyn Bowman
This past week I went to see a preview screening of the new movie, Land of the Lost starring Will Ferrell.
I am not sure what I was expecting. I have fond but vague memories of the old Saturday morning TV show. If your thoughts were similar to mine – that this would be great to share with the kids and make new memories- think again.
The story is about a crazy scientist who believes that he has found the way to travel through time. But other scientists in the international community have called him a nutter and made him into a laughing stock. But then a Cambridge student by the name of Holly comes to him with evidence that he might be right. So they set off to prove it at a cave in the desert. The machine, that plays the soundtrack of A Chorus Line, becomes missing during the time travel experience and the pair, along with their guide, Will, must find it if they hope to go home.
I am not sure who the intended audience was for this movie, which is the first and foremost problem. It is rated PG13 which should be your first and best clue that it is not meant for the single-digit-aged members of a family. Kids would seem like a natural but many of the jokes seemed aimed at older teens and young adults. Plus I am not sure that older age group would necessarily would enjoy the flatulence references or some of the chase scenes.
The running gag of the groping loses steam early on and appears to be aimed at young pre-teen and teen age boys as does the mosquito scene. But I would not want them watching the drug sequence. Just who is this movie aimed for? That is what I would ask director Brad Siberling if I could.
The other problem with this movie is Will Ferrell, who has done the egotistical guy too many times. He needs a new shtick. Adam Sandler has made the right move in doing a movie about every 18 months that is outside of his comedy comfort zone. It gives Sandler a chance to stretch and make his comedy roles better. I still love Punch Drunk Love and laughed hard at Don’t Mess With the Zohan.
But this is about Ferrell, not Sandler. Ferrell does not seem very kid-friendly to me, which made me wary of this movie in the first place. He has played the same character so many times that I can see him acting and so will you. That is when an actor is no longer fun.
Quite frankly, I felt manipulated for most of the movie. Gotcha moments and predictable occurrences were never ending. I am trying to remember what I thought might have been funny in this pop-culture referential movie but few things do. They are little things that did not seem to matter much but gave a little extra color.
If there had been more of that and less Will Ferrell acting a buffoon in a bad way, perhaps this movie would have been better. If Ferrell had been willing to take a chance and either take the movie seriously or make it all out campy, it might have been better.
But as it were Ferrell only went half way and in doing so wasted my time on a mediocre product. I can only hope you do not have to make the same mistake.
Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.
