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Osmosis Jones (2001)
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In their previous films, Bobby and Peter Farrelly have employed large doses of bodily
fluids and functions to generate their humor. So
it's no surprise that the duo who gave the world There's Something About Mary
and Dumb and Dumber would
eventually make a film that totally centers around these two linchpins of comedy. And now they've done it - made a film where most
of the action takes place inside of a human
body, albeit in animated form. One might
think that the freedom provided by animation and a total focus on phlegm and flatulence
might provide The Brothers F with the perfect canvas to make the ultimate juvenile
gross-out opus. Well, guess again. Osmosis
Jones is a strange hybrid that uses PG-rated restraint and is much less gross than you
might expect. It is still primarily for adults - most of the humor is clever wordplay and
pop culture and movie references that will whoosh right over the heads of anyone under
eight.
There are two story lines. There's
a live-action one that follows Frank (Bill Murray), a widower who works at a zoo cleaning
up after animals. The high point of his day
is heading home for a diet of cholesterol and beer. Only his heath-conscious young
daughter keeps him marginally healthy. Frank's
slovenly lifestyle and attitude has also made him persona
non grata with his daughter's teacher (Molly Shannon) and gotten him banned from an
upcoming parent-student hike. He's trying to
keep his relationship with his daughter healthy.
Inside Frank, in animation, Osmosis Jones (voiced by Chris Rock) is a
white blood cell pounding a beat in Frank's mouth. His job is to keep Frank's innards
healthy by keeping watch for nasty germs. A
deadly virus (Lawrence Fishburne) shows up and Osmosis has to stop him before he adds
Frank to his list of victims. He's assisted
by a well-meaning but straightlaced cold remedy capsule, Drix (David Hyde Pierce).
The external live scenes involving Murray are a minor portion of the
story and textbook Farrelly (when someone in a Farrelly film has a zit, rest assured it's
The Biggest Zit You've Ever Seen) and, as such, they barely register. The animated world of Frank's interior makes up 90% of
the film, and it's by far more interesting. And
it's also the wittiest and most intelligent story the Farrellys have ever told, certainly
the densest. Frank's innards and its
inhabitants are filled with puns, slams and wordplay, some delivered by the characters
("We'll just head down to the hemorrhoid and find you a good lawyer"), many in
the visuals (Drix is shown carrying a duffel bag labeled "Gonad's Gym"). There are numerous scenes parodying famous films,
from Terminator 2 to Titanic. The
interior scenes are even often educational, a
label not likely to be applied to any other Farrrelly film; as each area of the body is
visited the Farrellys manage to point out a little background on how it works.
But most filmgoers don’t see Farrelly films to be enlightened. And the humor here is definitely a mixed bag. The animated part of the film looks like a 1950s
Chuck Jones cartoon on laughing gas, very stylized and colorful. The humor is all in set details, asides, and
references to other films and media. There's enough antics going on in the background to
warrant repeat viewings to catch them all. But
in and of themselves the two story lines are not particularly entertaining, especially the
live one. At a preview screening, adults in
the audience were having a fine time catching the satire and takeoffs, but children –
especially younger ones – were mostly bored and uninterested.
So Osmosis Jones is an
anomaly – a Farrelly Brothers film for people who usually don’t like Farrelly
Brothers films. Don’t expect the usual
Farrelly broad brush and grade-school animal humor, but instead prepare for acerbic wit
and sly asides delivered in rapid fashion. Think
of it as Smart and Smarter, or Me, Myself, and a Spleen.
- Bob Aulert
