Comic nostalgia alive and well in `Flinstones'

Comic nostalgia alive and well in `Flinstones'

By Jim Plouffe

JAKARTA (JP): Some have criticized The Flintstones for being
too simple and some have complained about the lack of plot or any
real action, but they have all missed the fact that the film is
simply a nostalgic look at everyone's favorite stone age family.

From the beginning, you realize that the movie will be true to
the cartoon that you grew up with. As Fred (John Goodman) bundles
everyone into the familiar car and drives them off to the drive-
in theater and Dino pokes his head through the car roof for
Pebbles and Bambam to sit on, it is evident that this is the
original stuff.

Steven Spielberg, or "Spielrock" as he is called in the
credits, handily breaches the gap from animation to the live
action movie by ingeniously having the cast sit and watch a movie
about themselves as living breathing people.

As the B-52's updated version of the theme song fades away, we
meet Barney (Rick Moranis) and Fred on their customary ride home
from the quarry. The movie then cleverly and appropriately
follows the original, basic story line of Fred wanting to get
ahead, Barney helping him, Fred becoming too big for his boots,
fighting with the Rubbles and the inevitable make-up orchestrated
by the faithful wives, Wilma (Elizabeth Perkins) and Betty (Rosie
O'Donnell).

If the film has any lasting contribution to pop culture, which
is doubtful, it will be to immortalize the "Bedrock plot" like
Wayne's World did to the now infamous "Scoobie ending".

The traditional story line is moved along by the uncanny
likeness of the characters to the original cartoon figures. Rick
Moranis is the perfect Barney while Goodman's is very believable
as "old twinkle-toes". The guest appearance of Elizabeth Taylor
as the mother-in-law is almost perfect. Her busy body, aggressive
nature fits in perfectly although she may be a little too sexy to
be the butch mother-in-law of the cartoon.

The only real deviation from the original, is that "The Royal
Order of Water Buffaloes" are made out to be a beer drinking,
bowling mad society, not the civic minded, bowling mad
organization in the cartoon. Mr. Slate could have also had a
bigger role.

What makes the characters all the more believable is the
uncanny similarity of their voices to the original. Betty's and
Wilma's conspiratorial giggle, Dino's bark and Fred's "let me
tell you," sound as if they were lifted straight from the strip.

Special effects

Not only the characters are identical, but also the wonderful
"modern" appliances. The movie cleverly uses the mammoth shower,
the bird record player, the pig garbage disposal, the crab lawn
mower and the clam electric shaver. New inventions, like the very
important parrot Dictaphone, are also introduced.

The special effects used for the appliances allows those in
the audience who have never seen the original to also share in
the fun. The most obvious being the ample use of "Spielbergian"
dinosaurs to win the hearts of the dinosaur mad children.
However, there is a tendency to overplay the foot powered car
with every character complaining of sore and dirty feet.

The Flintstones is a have-fun-movie which brings the viewer
down memory lane. Throughout the movie you can sense how they had
fun with adapting the cartoon to the screen and even give the
original creators, Hannah and Barbara, cameo parts as directors
of Slate's quarry. Although, at times, it seems as if it is just
one prehistoric gag come to life after another.

The naive moviegoer will dismiss it as just one huge marketing
tool to sell the barrage of film related paraphernalia during the
school holidays. Of course it is, but so are most of the movies
on the market.

After having a car toppling feed of ribs, Fred brings the
family home for the night. A warm feeling fills the theater as we
all wonder if the cat will ever stay out for the night.

The Flintstones is certainly not a masterpiece but it achieves
its aim of bringing alive the cartoon that an entire generation
grew up rushing home from school to watch. Will we be graced with
The Simpsons in 20 years?