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| Ghost
busters! Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr.
and Sarah Michelle Gellar are 'tooned in with "Scooby-Doo" |
"'Scooby'
Dumb, but Fun"
by Scott Mantz
"Scooby-Doo"
Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Matthew Lillard,
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Directed by Raja Gosnell
I never thought
I'd say this, but the fact that I enjoyed "Scooby-Doo"
more
than "Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones" speaks
volumes about how
good it is. Or maybe it speaks volumes about how bad "Star
Wars" is.
Either way,
it's a pleasant surprise, especially considering I'm not even a
fan of the classic cartoon series that inspired it. Sure, I came
across the
adventures of the Mystery Machine when I was a kid, but the only
reason I
ever watched them was because I thought Daphne was a hottie. Yeah,
I know
she was a cartoon, but what can I say, I was young.
Well, that was
then, and this is now, and Daphne's not a cartoon anymore.
For that matter, neither are Fred, Velma and Shaggy, and while the
live-action version of "Scooby-Doo" is aimed squarely
at kids with an
at-times-unhealthy dose of juvenile humor, there's just enough fun,
charm and
heart to make this mercifully short movie pass along like a pleasant
summer
breeze.
Zoinks! It's
been two years since super sleuths Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.),
Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy
(Matthew
Lillard) and Scooby went their separate ways after a bitter argument,
but
they are unwittingly brought back together for their most dangerous
case yet.
The administrator of Spooky Island fears that his resort may be
haunted, so
he summons the perceptive detectives to get to the bottom of the
case before
he loses his college customers for good. Can Scooby and the gang
overcome
their differences in time to save the resort...and quite possibly
the world?
Whew, it's enough to make you say "ruh-roh!"
"Scooby-Doo"
drags at times, but it still captures the campy, idealistic
charm of the cartoon series while building up on the personalities
that have
been established over the years. Fred is just as arrogant and self-centered
as ever, while sexy Daphne is sick of being seen as nothing more
than a
damsel in distress. Velma is still the resident brainiac of the
group, but
she fails to get the recognition she deserves because Fred steals
her thunder
all the time. Then of course, there's Shaggy, the scaredy-cat with
a
never-ending case of the munchies.
And let's not
forget good ol' Scooby himself. The pup is completely
computer-generated for his big screen close-up, so as expected,
he bounces
all over the screen and is even more animated than his cartoon alter-ego.
He
definitely looks like a CGI character, but for the most part, he
still blends
quite seamlessly with his real life co-stars.
The film has
its witty moments, but not enough of them to appeal to the
adults who grew up with fond memories of the precious pooch. There
are a few
light touches, specifically where Shaggy's constant craving for
Scooby Snacks
are concerned, but the film really misses the boat with Velma. Since
she has
such a masculine demeanor, wouldn't it have been funny if her longtime
crush
was on Daphne instead of Fred?
Matthew Lillard
really did his homework where Shaggy is concerned, so to that
extent, he gives the performance of his career (I can't believe
I just said
that!). Linda Cardellini also seems to be having a blast as the
brainy, but
surprisingly sexy Velma, while Sarah Michelle Gellar borrows from
her
butt-kicking role on "Buffy" to give Daphne a more physical
edge. Only
Freddie Prinze Jr. seems to give the weakest performance of the
four, but
then again, he is playing a dour, boring character.
At times, the
characters of "Scooby-Doo" seem as out of place as the
Brady
kids did in their movies, but by showing how important long lasting
friendships are, it's hard not to be won over by their heartwarming
brand of
summer entertainment. That's good news coming from someone who's
not even a
"Scooby" fan, but then again, we are talking about someone
who thinks that
Daphne is still a hottie. And come to think of it, Velma's looking
pretty
good too!
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