Review of The Country Bears (2002) by Ryan K — 19 Jul 2010

Remember in "Silence of the Lambs" when Dr. Hannibal Lecter's (Anthony Hopkins) character gave you chills every moment he was onscreen? I got that exact same feeling every time Big Al's (the late James Gammon) character, the goofy groundskeeper for Country Bear Hall appeared.

No, that's an absolute lie. I didn't get chills. I cracked up with hysterical laughter. Nearly every scene was rife with mindless stupidity and I loved every moment of it. Unfortunately I think much of the humor was laughing AT the movie, rather than laughing WITH it.

The bears themselves are oversized, wacky, absurdly bizarre monsters who somehow manage to blend in with human society...perhaps they are hiding in plain sight? The bears' easy interaction with humans is one of the most absolutely loony elements of this concoction of a Disney theme park ride movie.

Stephen Tobolowsky of Glee and the superb Queen Latifah give entertaining performances in their unfortunately tiny roles, and Christopher Walken as the foreclosure-happy banker is equal parts ominous and hilarious.

I won't claim that "The Country Bears" is basically "Crazy Heart" with bear puppets instead of Jeff Bridges (though wouldn't that be lovely?). I will say however that the Bears give a thoroughly enjoyable performance for anyone openminded enough for an hour and a half of funny screwball "get the band back together!" silliness.

And once again, I found Big Al to be fucking hysterical.