Inspector Gadget/Angels in the Infield

“Inspector Gadget” was an afternoon TV cartoon in the 1980s, which has huge fans with some; I never saw it, which had a 1999 high-tech live-action retread that had fans of the cartoon livid because, as you might know, Dr. Claw’s face was seen throughout. Since Dr. Claw was never seen in the cartoon, but it is no relief that he is played in here by Madonna’s ex, Rupert Everett. You might agree that Rupert Everett who was on a high streak until he was casted in this movie.

Matthew Broderick stars, first as a security guard John Brown, then as a robotic supercop named Inspector Gadget: “Columbo and Nintendo all rolled into one,” says Police Chief Quimby, played by Dabney Coleman.

Broderick also plays the villain Gadget doppelganger, the bad guy RoboGadget, who impersonates the inspector and sets half the city on fire trying to discredit him.

The thing with Gadget is that he has been made with a suit and (especially) a hat that are filled with gadgets. All he has to say is “Go-go gadget” and name the gadget he’s asking, and it comes, but it can be difficult remembering the right go-go word while falling from the top of a skyscraper. His gadgets include a hand that sprays toothpaste when he’s asking for oil (Gadget) and fire (RoboGadget), a hat that turns into a helicopter, and legs that extend into long steel stilts, allowing him to stomp over traffic and go to where he needs to in a hurry. There’s also countless other gadgets.

His partner here, Brenda, played by Joely Fisher, is the daughter of an inventor who found out how to combine human with technology. The enemy, Claw, wants to steal the technology for himself. Local officials come to help when the conflict increases into a safety hazard, and there are also famous scenes for cats, mayors and nieces.

Roger Ebert said in his revew, “Obviously I would be better armed to deal with this stuff had I ever seen an Inspector Gadget cartoon. I could discuss how it does or doesn't live up to, or down to, the original. As it is I'm stuck with the movie as a stand-alone, and I'm pretty underwhelmed. Perhaps younger kids will like it more. I didn't care about the action because it made no difference to me who won or lost. The plot was an arbitrary concoction. The bad guy is played by Everett as a man fastidiously keeping a certain distance from the jokes. There are all sorts of pop culture references, but so what? There are admittedly some individual funny lines. (When the Dabney Coleman character sees John Brown in a head-to-toe body cast, he calls him "The English Patient.") The funniest moment in the movie comes at the end, as a credit cookie during the closing titles. It's a shot of a "Minion Support Group," showing Claw's sidekick 12-stepping with other famous evil minions (I spotted Richard Kiel's "Jaws" and perhaps Oddjob). Now that is an idea for a comedy.”

The runtime of this movie is only 80 minutes long, but do you think it would have helped if they had an Inspector Gadget short before the movie started?

I remember when I was about nine or ten years old, my sister and I dragged my brother to the theaters to see this. I liked it back then, but after seeing Nostalgia Critic’s review of the movie, I now can see how it’s one of the worst adaptations ever made.

As long as writer-director Robert King can keep to his game plan of childish humor, “Angels in the Infield,” released in 2000, manages to put together some funny, if tired, scenes. Steven Oxman said in his review, “Patrick Warburton and David Alan Grier, two gifted comic actors, embrace the corniness of the material, but in part because of that approach the sentimentality of the ending feels even more synthetic than usual.” Children of the movie’s first installment will enjoy this version to a certain part, but adults will want to turn this off after the first hour of awkward comedy.

“Steady” Eddie Everett, played by Patrick Warburton (he got his nickname because of his really intentional pace), is a has-been pitcher for the rundown Angels, a team stuck deep down in the standings. The story begins as Eddie’s former wife, Claire (Rebecca Jenkins), arrives at a game, insisting that Eddie take in their 13-year-old daughter, Laurel (Brittney Irvin). Not seeing any options, Eddie brings Laurel home, but tries to put all his parental responsibilities onto his agent Simon, played by Kurt Fuller.

When Laurel prays for her father to get his confidence back so he’ll be a better dad, her prayer is answered by angel Bob Bugler, played by comedian David Alan Grier, who before he died was a rising pitcher. In a smart opening, we see Bob complaining about warming the bench in heaven as he watches a ball game. Oxman said, “This “second-string” joke continues to play into the principal plot as Bob takes a nebulous group of rusty angels back to Earth to help Laurel and Eddie lead the Angels to a championship.” As you guessed, it’s really even more important that Eddie attend Laurel’s dance recital.

There’s not one surprise here, but occasionally the comedy does work. Oxman notes, “Some corporate synergy comes into play as Disney pokes fun at ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” with some mild, gross-out comedy.”

Weakest part of the story involves Satan, played by Colin Fox, a weak Beelzebub who looks really pinned in and cheap. Oxman said, “King also becomes overambitious during the climactic baseball scene, and there’s a very choppily edited bit in the middle of this sequence that’s hard to follow.” However, the tech credits are excellent.

Warburton is an actor who does one thing and does it really well. His delivery is really weak, his façade so solid, his speech so clipped, that he needs to find something for his specific talents rather than just being casted in these roles. When he’s on screen, he can be funny, but emotion is not his specialty. While he makes the film fun to watch at the beginning, he becomes just weak later on when the jokes stop coming.

Oxman ended his review by saying, “Grier has a far greater range as an actor, but he is best when he’s allowed leeway to be ridiculous. That’s true of this telepic as a whole.”

As you might have guessed, don’t waste your time watching these movies because they are painful to watch.

Now that we “thankfully” got those out of the way, look out tomorrow when we look at more for 

“Disney Live-Action Month.”