Quick thoughts on Land of the Lost

This is not a full on review. And it comes from someone who has no first-hand knowledge about the original TV show.

Land of the Lost isn't nearly as bad as many of the critics say, but it's not all that good either. It's easily the weakest of the major Will Ferrell comedies, and it's Brad Silberling's least compelling film since Casper. An unbilled James Lipton gets solid laughs purely for being a good sport. The use of the music from A Chorus Line is a solid running gag, and an impromptu rendition of Cher's "Do You Believe In Love?" gets a solid chuckle. The third act is ten-minutes too long. Anna Friel isn't allowed to be funny. She gets exactly two laughs, plus some giggles as she is forced to translate the ramblings of a the monkey-like Cha Ka (although to the film's credit she is not overly sexualized). Danny McBride basically plays his usual anti-social nutcase, but in a gentler fashion. To the film's credit, the cheesy special effects are convincing when they needed to be and completely fake at all other times. The monsters are actually occasionally menacing, and there's a jump scare about twenty minutes in that actually surprised me. Parents be warned, this isn't a family-friendly comedy that happens to be rated PG-13. This is a full-on PG-13 comedy, complete with the usual Will Ferrell bawdiness and irreverent and often trippy humor, that Universal is selling as a family film. In short, I liked it more than Marshall Fine but less than Roger Ebert. And, frankly, I would have enjoyed it a little more had the theater not been 50 below zero, but I digress.

Grade: C+

Scott Mendelson