Comic critters unleash 'Furry Vengeance'
After working with his outraged animal co-stars in the new family comedy "Furry Vengeance," actor Brendan Fraser just might think that the Egyptian mummies rising from the dead in his "Mummy" films are a piece of cake.
After all, no mummy ever pinned Fraser's character in a well-used portable "potty" and then tossed it into a tree, as a grizzly bear does in "Furry Vengeance."
Fraser stars as Dan Sanders, an ambitious real estate developer overseeing the construction of a new housing development in the Oregon woods.
Dan has relocated his homesick wife Tammy (Brooke Shields) and teenage son Tyler (Matt Prokop) with the promise that they will all return to Chicago in one year when the development project is complete. Mother and son are counting the days.
But Dan soon learns that his self-absorbed, profit-loving boss Neal Lyman (Ken Jeong in one of the film's nuttiest roles) actually has plans for Dan to supervise a four-year construction job that will replace the entire forest with a forest-themed shopping mall.
When the animals in the woods realize that their home is about to be demolished, Mother Nature goes on the warpath. Led by a take-charge raccoon, the forest dwellers - beavers, skunks, opossums, wild turkeys, weasels and a grizzly bear - join forces against their new arch enemy: Dan.
A crow keeps him up all night, tapping on various windows of his home. Squirrels put tooth-cracking acorns in his breakfast cereal. And the ringleader raccoon unplugs Dan's treadmill while in use, sending Dan careening into a wall.
Unfortunately, no other human but Dan is witness to these animal antics, so when he frantically announces "The animals are out to get me!" his family and construction-worker employees simply think he is coming unglued from stress.
Fraser does a fine job of portraying the hapless and well-meaning Dan, trying to do his job and keep his family happy while facing the animals' wrath.
Shields shows some real comic flair as Dan's science teacher wife and a strong chemistry with Fraser. She chats, gobble-style, with two wild turkeys who wander into the family's yard, then demands that Dan put down his turkey bacon so as not to offend the strolling birds.
Other fine supporting human characters include Wallace Shawn as the therapist who tries to convince Dan that the animals are not after him by showing him - what else - Rorschach prints of crazed animals! And Alice Drummond is hysterical as Mrs. Martin, a senile senior working with Tammy at school.
Yet, it's the animals - both real and computer-enhanced - who are the true stars of the film. Cuddly critters steal scene after scene with their clever plans to save their woodsy home. Even the vulture is somewhat cute.
"Furry Vengeance" is at its funniest and most surprising in its first hour. It's a silly film with a serious message: Everyone - from a real estate developer to a gobbling wild turkey - needs a place to call home.
"Furry Vengeance"Rating: #9733; #9733; 189;Starring: Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Matt Prokop, Ken Jeong, Angela Kinsey, Wallace Shawn, Skyler Samuels Directed by: Roger KumbleOther: A Summit Entertainment and Participant Media release. Rated PG. Running time 91 minutes