By Robert Scucci | Published 1 minute ago Having burned out my mother’s Mr. Bean VHS tapes at an early age, I actually had no clue that the series only had 15 episodes across a single season. Then again, I was only a kid, and those 15 episodes felt like a treasure trove of physical comedy thanks to Rowan Atkinson’s commitment to a character who rarely speaks and finds the most ridiculous ways possible to live his life. In fairness, Season 1 of Mr. Bean stretched across five years (1990 to 1995) thanks to its slow, sporadic release schedule, and the comedy is so awkward that some five minute sequences felt like an eternity for my developing mind. Spawning its own animated series and two highly successful feature films, Mr. Bean as a character boasts a level of charm that I’d confidently describe as a proper callback to the silent movie era. In the original series, he barely speaks, and his movements are exaggerated pantomimes of everyday situations that lean hard into slapstick and situational humor. By turning mundane scenarios into absurd adventures, Mr. Bean is an absolute treat to watch, and you can breeze through the entire series in a single afternoon. Bean, Bean, He’s Good For Your Heart The setup for every single Mr. Bean skit is so simple that it’s borderline idiotic, and that’s entirely the point. Everyday tasks like shopping at a department store, swimming in a public pool, transporting a recliner home from a furniture store, or stuffing a Christmas turkey turn into full blown ordeals that most normal people could navigate with little to no struggle. Mr. Bean, who may as well be an alien hiding inside a human suit in his attempts to blend in with society, wanders both aimlessly and with purpose as he tries to complete practical tasks with absolutely no regard for social norms or etiquette. You’d think that somebody like Mr. Bean would be a hard character to root for, but he’s so genuinely clueless and sincere that you can’t help but want to see him succeed while also laughing at his expense. Onlookers are baffled by his behavior, but since we’re following his logic from start to finish, it all somehow begins to make sense. As Rowan Atkinson himself has described the character, we’re essentially watching a child trapped inside a grown man’s body trying to function as a member of polite society. Every single move he makes epically backfires, and some of the biggest laughs come from watching him risk serious bodily harm in situations that no normal person would ever struggle with in the first place. Made Tidal Waves At The Box Office Mr. Bean’s exposure hit critical mass in 1997 when his first feature film, aptly titled Bean, expanded the character into long form comedy. Here, we get Mr. Bean, but bigger and better. The shtick remains largely the same, but the film adds more emotional context that makes him come across as slightly more sympathetic rather than purely clueless. He’s still a giant idiot, but there’s a touch more heart that helps the character connect with a much wider audience. While the film wore out its welcome with critics who felt the character was better suited for sketch based comedy than a 90 minute runtime, Bean dominated the box office. The film pulled in roughly $251 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $18 million, proving that the character’s appeal translated just fine beyond short form television. Naturally, an intellectual property that pulled numbers like that was always going to get a sequel. That eventually brought us Mr. Bean’s Holiday, which performed similarly well, earning around $232 million during its 2007 theatrical run. It’s Simple, It’s Stupid, And Its Legacy Speaks For Itself The humor in Mr. Bean is painfully British , but its charm has proven to be completely universal. Decades later, it still holds up remarkably well. Sometimes, you just need some good, dumb fun, and spending an afternoon with Mr. Bean is a perfect way to unwind while laughing at an everyday idiot doing his absolute best to exist in a world that constantly demands conformity. GFR SCORE There is nothing normal about Mr. Bean, and that’s exactly why the character endures. His carefree approach to life, no matter how misguided, feels refreshing in a society obsessed with rules, optics, and social expectations. Taking life seriously all the time is exhausting, and Mr. Bean , currently streaming on Hulu, serves as a reminder that it’s okay to let go, go with the flow, and stop worrying so much about what everyone else thinks. Related Topics: Source: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/comedy/mr-bean-season-one-review.html