Land of the Lost
In terms of summer silliness, it’s hard to fathom anything sillier than this adaptation of the ’70s Sid & Marty Kroft TV show, and not just because Will Ferrell stars as Dr. Rick Marshall, the scientist whose research into time warps is the laughing stock of the scientific community.
First things first- Ferrell is the only star that could work comfortably in this somewhat surreal adventure, which director Brad Silberling (“Casper,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”) brings a quirky surrealism to with campy success. Admittedly, it’s a mild entertainment, succeeding largely because of Ferrell and Danny McBride’s “out there” type of humor, some funny gags, and a score by Michael Giacchino that continues to solidify his status as one of the best composers working today.
If you must have a standard plot summary, here it goes- Marshall is proven right when a comely doctoral candidate (Anna Friel) inspires him to test his time warp-proving invention, landing them (and redneck survivalist Will, played by McBride) in the titular “Lost” world, where past, present and future collide with crazy consequences, dinosaurs and lizard people roam the planet, and a man-ape named Chaka (Jorma Taccone) leads them on an adventure to find the device that’ll deliver them home.
I have to say, I was concerned about the film’s PG-13 rating, but the things that made it said rating (namely the usual Ferrell profanity) actually worked in the film’s favor. That doesn’t mean everything in the film stuck- the film just didn’t engage me in the adventure- but when compared to last year’s surprise hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” this film is basically “Jurassic Park” in comparison. Watching it, I can see this flick being a fun use of “throw stuff at the audience” 3-D, what with all the dinosaur chases and adventure sequences that will appeal to the youngins’. Silberling and co. make this excursion into light fun, well, fun, no matter how slight. In no way will this be hitting top 10 lists, but you know what? After some of the movies I’ve put up with this year (*Cough* “Dance Flick”), it’s nice to see silliness that manages to at least provide some entertainment value.
