(rated PG-13)
Brendan Fraser is Stu Miley, the man behind The Monkey Bone Cartoon that is taking America and toy stores by storm; until one night when driving home with his soon to be wife (Bridget Fonda), a prototype toy explodes in the car and Stu ends up in a coma. His first stop; psychological baggage in a circus festival called Downtown, a place that is part nightmare part dream state. Think left brain/right brain except Fraser (as a cartoonist/illustrator) uses right hand/left hand. Whoopi Goldberg is the God of this death sentence, with Rose McGowan as a sexually dreamed pussycat. Stu has three months to awaken from the coma or his sister (Megan Mullally, who does a great hyper job) will pull the plug. Girlfriend Fonda is determined to scare him awake. And that’s just the problem with this movie. While it’s brought to us by the team of Chris “Home Alone” Columbus, and director Henry “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Selick, it will be too frightening for small children, too tedious for adults (though the imagery/wizardry/state of the art is fun to watch), and the pre-teens won’t get the grown up jokes. So, just who is this movie for? For anyone who’s every needed sleeping pills this one will keep you awake, but it’s so wacky, so energized, and so delirious, you wouldn’t believe the ending if I told you.
