"Furry Vengeance" seems familiar. Too familiar.
Perhaps that's because the live-action comedy is so reminiscent of any number of TV movies from Disney or Nickelodeon. Or maybe it's because it's so unoriginal and derivative, lifting gags and ideas from such disparate films as "Home Alone," "Caddyshack," "Funny Farm," "The Chronicles of Narnia" and even "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (Brendan Fraser's pre auto-crash yelp of "Miley Cyrus!" — featured so prominently in the trailer — is too like Steve Carrell's mid-waxing "Kelly Clarkson!" in "Virgin" to be coincidental).
Speaking of Carrell, years ago, when the American version of "The Office" had begun to take off but the actor was not yet a box-office draw, he was attached to this project. He got out, but a lot of his television cohorts (including "The Daily Show's" Rob Riggle and Samantha Bee, as well as Angela Kinsey from "The Office") did not fare as well. These supporting roles are small and occasionally amusing (especially that of overexposed hot property Ken Jeong, who might be starting to wear out his welcome), exhibiting just a bit of the biting satire that, properly employed, would have made "Furry Vengeance" a better movie. Instead, it's a watered-down, predictable affair with a Port-a-Potty full of scatological humor and injured crotches. And Fraser.
I was recently reminded that the last time I wrote something negative about Fraser, I received a particularly nasty and angry letter from a woman I can only imagine is his No. 1 fan. So let me say this: He isn't given a lot to work with. Still, he approaches the admittedly thin material in a resigned, lackluster manner, playing real estate developer Dan Sanders, the public face of a "green" building company that is only interested in the shade of green that's used to print money. Sanders has relocated his family from Chicago to the middle of the forest to head up his firm's deforestation with a massive residential and commercial development.
The local critters have other ideas, including probably murdering one of the firm's bad guys — a cigar-chomping litterbug — by knocking his car off a steep cliff with a boulder in the movie's prologue. Furry vengeance indeed. Their attacks on Sanders are of the less-lethal "sleep deprivation/skunk-spraying" variety, perhaps because they know (could it be any other way?) that beneath his gruff, corporate exterior lies a heart of green.
An undeveloped subplot involving Sanders' son's romance only serves to further the film's relentless and strangely annoying environmental message until, predictably, all toothy, claw-sporting, bird-pooping hell breaks loose at the wilderness festival organized by Sanders' disbelieving wife (a game Brooke Shields).
That's not to say there are no clever ideas in "Furry Vengeance." There's plenty of computer-generated stuff here, but Austin's Bobbi Colorado and her company, The Wild Bunch, provided well-trained animals.
So, instead of speaking English (thank goodness), the squirrels, badgers, skunks, bears and owls communicate cartoon-style, via thought bubbles with pictures. This is a pretty entertaining storytelling device and will probably go a long way toward explaining the creatures' motivation to small children.
And small children will enjoy "Furry Vengeance." But they'd be better served by rewatching 2006's far more entertaining and thoughtful computer-animated critters vs. urbanization tale "Over the Hedge."
'Furry Vengeance'
Our grade: C- (1-1/2 stars)
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 92 min
MPAA rating: PG
Release Date: Apr 30, 2010
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