Reviewer's Rating 3 out of 5
The Animal (2001)
12

Adam Sandler has a lot to answer for. Not content with churning out his own series of dumb and dumber comedies ("The Waterboy", "Little Nicky"), he also serves as executive producer on a string of vehicles starring his "Big Daddy" co-star and fellow Saturday Night Live regular, Rob Schneider.

Last year they collaborated on "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo", a one-joke farce about a wimpy loser who becomes a male prostitute. In "The Animal" Schneider plays Marvin, a wimpy loser who becomes an invincible supercop. And they say Hollywood is running out of ideas!

The twist is that Marvin's crime-fighting abilities stem from being rebuilt using animal parts, in the wake of a near-fatal car accident. Throw a Frisbee and he instantly becomes a snarling dog; if a child is drowning he adopts the characteristics of a seal. At one point he tries to seduce a female goat - but, hey, you get the idea.

As low-brow comedies go, "The Animal" is positively Neanderthal (be warned: it makes "Deuce Bigalow" look sophisticated by comparison). But if you want a giggle and are not too fussy, you could do much worse than surrendering to its shamelessly puerile brand of smutty schoolboy humour.

The diminutive, sweaty Schneider makes an oddly endearing lead, and Australian actor Michael Caton ("The Castle") hams it up delightfully as the mad scientist who fancies himself as Frankenstein.

Subtle this isn't, but, sandwiched between a few beverages and a Chicken Korma, it has all the makings of an excellent Friday night.

End Credits

Director: Luke Greenfield

Writer: Rob Schneider, Tom Brady

Stars: Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, Guy Torry, John C McGinley, Edward Asner, Michael Caton, Bob Rudin

Genre: Comedy

Length: 82 minutes

Cinema: 2 November 2001

Country: USA

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