How a clumsy security guard became a global box-office sensation in 1997
In short: When Rowan Atkinson brought his iconic television character to the big screen, critics were underwhelmed by the slapstick antics. Yet, the film became a massive financial success, grossing over $250 million worldwide. Discover the strange production history, the regional differences in the edit, and the accidental art heist at its core.
Directed by Mel Smith and penned by Richard Curtis and Robin Driscoll, the 1997 film Bean expanded the scope of the popular British sitcom. The plot follows a bumbling, lazy security guard at London's National Gallery who is sent to Los Angeles as a supposed art expert. His mission is to oversee the unveiling of the 1871 painting Whistler's Mother, which the Grierson Art Gallery had acquired from the Musée d'Orsay.
The film's production was marked by significant shifts. While 20th Century Fox initially planned an adaptation in 1991, the project eventually moved to Working Title Films and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. Upon release, the movie faced a polarized reception. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 41% approval rating, with Roger Ebert noting that while the physical comedy was often hilarious, the 90-minute runtime felt stretched. Despite this, the film was a commercial juggernaut, becoming the fastest British production to reach $100 million in earnings.
Intriguingly, the experience of watching the film varied by geography. Test screenings revealed distinct audience preferences, leading to different cuts for North American and international viewers. The North American version features a sequence where the protagonist gets his head stuck inside a turkey, while the international version replaces this with a scene involving a microwave explosion. These adjustments highlight the challenges of translating a character defined by silent, physical humor into a feature-length narrative.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Bean (film)
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