AmateurMovieReviews.com

The 1999 movie Dudley Do-Right was a live-action film based on a cartoon of the same name. The cartoon had a very short run on television (it lasted only from 1969-1970) as a spinoff of the popular Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1961-1973). The film version starred Brendan Fraser in the title role and Alfred Molina as the villain Snidely K. Whiplash. Dudley Do-Right's love interest, Nell Fenwick, was played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and her father, Inspector Fenwick, was played by Robert Prosky.

Dudley-Do-Right opens with a scene from Dudley's childhood. He is talking with his two best friends, who happen to be a young Nell and young Snidely (who already has a penchant for black clothes). All three kids already know what they want to do when they grow up: Snidely says he's "going to be the bad guy"; Nell wants to travel the world; and Dudley wants to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He even has his own miniature Mountie uniform that he loves to dress up in.

We then flash forward many years to find that Dudley has indeed fulfilled his dream. He is a Mountie stationed in the quiet Canadian village of Semi-Happy Valley, and really doesn't have much to do except bumble his way around the lodge that serves as his headquarters.

But things soon get interesting when Snidely K. Whiplash and his gang appear on the scene. Snidely has an ingenious plan to take over Semi-Happy Valley: He's going to make it seem as though there's gold to be found in the area, and he'll capitalize on the new gold rush that's sure to ensue. First, he drives off all the regular townsfolk by spreading a rumor that there are vampires in the area. Then, in order to start fooling the rest of the population, Snidely shoots gold-colored flakes and nuggets into abandoned mines and local streams. One day, a down-and-out drifter prospector named Kim (played by Eric Idle), finds a golden nugget. At Snidely's  insistence, Kim appears on the "Regis and Kathie Lee Show" to talk about his discovery, which of course sets off the gold rush that Snidely has been anticipating.

As people flock to the area in droves, Snidely becomes the richest man around. He takes over every business and renames the town after himself. Dudley senses that something isn't right, but he can't quite put his finger on what the problem is. To make matters worse, when Dudley tries to enlist the help of other agencies, Snidely's connections get him removed from the RCMP. The rest of the film follows Dudley's attempts to stop Snidely, get his job back, and win Nell over.

Most movies are made to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, but I think Dudley-Do Right fails in that aspect. It would be very difficult for someone not familiar with the cartoon to enjoy this film on its own merits. Without having the cartoon as a reference point, it's almost impossible to appreciate the characters in the movie because their actions are over-exaggerated and make the actors appear, well, cartoonish.

The only person who I thought perfectly captured his cartoon counterpart was Molina. He was just excellent as Snidely K. Whiplash, the stereotypical villain with the curling mustaches, the black attire, and the evil plan. Molina was a lot of fun to watch, but unfortunately, he couldn't save this film.

I thought Brendan Fraser was the wrong actor for Dudley Do-Right. Back in 1999, Fraser was a pretty popular star with movies such as George of the Jungle and Encino Man to his credit. So the Dudley Do-Right role probably seemed like a good choice at the time. But Fraser never seemed comfortable with the role, and wasn't able to pull it off convincingly. I also thought someone other than Sarah Jessica Parker should have played Nell, so that was another strike against this movie.

The film was also short on plot, and ran just one hour and 17 minutes, a time that includes a 5-minute cartoon at the beginning. I didn't think studios released movies that were much shorter than 90 minutes, but I guess I was wrong.

Overall, only hardcore fans of the Dudley Do-Right cartoon will appreciate the movie version. Everyone else should just stay away from it.