Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)

Director:

Steve Bendelack

Writers:

Rowan Atkinson (character) and
Richard Curtis (character) ...

Release Date:

24 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Disaster has a passport

Plot:

Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two come back together. On the way he discovers France, bicycling, and true love, among other things.

Plot Keywords:

Train | France | Director | Mr Bean | Raffle

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Mr. Bean
Steve Pemberton	...	Vicar
Lily Atkinson	...	Lily at the Stereo
Preston Nyman	...	Boy with Train
Sharlit Deyzac	...	Buffet Attendant
Francois Touch	...	Busker Accordion
Emma de Caunes	...	Sabine
Arsène Mosca	...	Traffic Controller (as Arsene Mosca)
Stéphane Debac	...	Traffic Controller
Willem Dafoe	...	Carson Clay
Philippe Spall	...	French Journalist
Jean Rochefort	...	Maitre'D
Karel Roden	...	Emil
Max Baldry	...	Stepan
Pascal Jounier	...	Tipsy Man

Also Known As:

Bean 2 (UK) (working title)
Bean II (UK) (working title)
French Bean (UK) (working title)
Les vacances de Mr. Bean (France)
Mr Bean's Holiday (UK) (alternative spelling)
Mr. Bean macht Ferien (Germany)
Mr. Bean's Vacation (USA)

MPAA:

Re-rated G; originally rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | France | Germany

Language:

English | French | Spanish | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Spain:T | Malaysia:U | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Argentina:Atp | USA:G | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | Taiwan:GP (original rating) | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Arc de Triomphe, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The film Willem Dafoe's character premieres at the Cannes Film Festival (Carson Clay presents a Carson Clay film starring Carson Clay) pokes fun at Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny (2003), which had premiered at Cannes four years before the release of Mr. Bean's Holiday. Gallo's film was strongly criticized as being boring and self indulgent, which is what Carson Clay's film is humorously portrayed as being.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the scene after Mr. Bean boards Sabine's car for the first time, and Sabine is asking about Bean's accent, her windows is almost fully down, but her hair does not flutter like it should in the scene after the "idiot" car passes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Vicar: Three-one. Thirty-one. And now to the first prize in today's raffle in aid of the "roof appeal." Thank you, Lily. Indeed. The magnificent holiday to the south of France, kindly sponsored by Dalesborough Travel Limited. So, thank you, guys. The winner of this prize will travel by Eurostar train to Paris...

Movie Connections:

References Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)

Soundtrack:

Too Late, Too Late

The comedy that defines the term "Summer Fun".

If you asked a handful of people of varying ages in America, chances are you'd get about 8 out of 10 knowing who he is. They may not know Rowan's real name, but they know the character.

The sad part about this film is that it's absolutely wonderful, and most people in America aren't going to see it because it's rated "PG". Not a dirty gag, foul word, or joke about someone's junk to be found. And the really amazing part is that it's half comedy, half gorgeous scenery surrounding it. It mocks the Hollywood standard, it has melodious music, it's masterfully filmed, and all the while you just find yourself going "Oh, that Bean." *puts fists on hips*

I can't honestly say I've seen a film this good, this funny, this... pure that can make anyone laugh and find themselves feeling charmed after having seen it. Emma De Caunes stole my heart, Max Baldry is a kid that anyone his age can relate to, and Defoe actually pulls out a great, over-the-top performance without even uttering a four-letter word that he's so very good at snarling out.

You know what? Shame on us America. That we need the big bang, the flatulence, and the double entendre to amuse our soured idea of comedy. What is so wrong with having a character like Bean, a performance like Atkinson's, that we can't find that part of us that wasn't soured on tasteless "humor" but just absorb and let out a barrel-chested sigh of satisfaction after a hearty laugh from a genuine, clever clean joke or visual gag?

We'll go on, with our Jackasses and Scary Movie XII and we'll forget about them five minutes after we've left the theater, but darnit, it's high time a movie like Mr. Bean's Holiday came along. And I for one would pay money to see this again, even if the American know-it-alls of Hollywood think it's better suited in a death slot in September, to be forgotten, sandwiched between sequel after sequel and the banality of teen slasher flicks acted by twenty-somethings whose genre should have died off years ago.

If what Atkinson says is true, that this is the last time Bean will ever appear, then he's gone out on the highest note you could ever bestow on a character so beloved. Shine on Bean, and ride off into that sunset, you crazy, wonderful fella you. And thanks for all the laughs.

... But where's Teddy?