THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2001

Racing Film on Fast Track at Box Office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - ``The Fast and the Furious,'' a new street-racing thriller starring a young ensemble cast, sped off with the weekend box office crown, leaving Eddie Murphy's ``Dr. Dolittle'' sequel in the dust.

With estimated ticket sales of $41.6 million for the three days beginning Friday, ``The Fast and the Furious'' helped catapult the overall box office sharply higher compared to the year-ago weekend, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

Meanwhile, ``Dr. Dolittle 2'' (Fox) opened at No. 2 with $26.7 million -- about $2.3 million less than what the first film did in June 1998. Last weekend's champion, ``Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (Paramount), slipped to No. 3 with $20.2 million.

Two cartoons rounded out the top five, each down one place from last weekend: ``Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (Walt Disney Pictures) with $13.2 million and ``Shrek'' (DreamWorks) with $11.0 million.

The top 12 films grossed $140.7 million, up 10 percent from last weekend, and up 44 percent from the year-ago period when ''Me, Myself & Irene'' opened at No. 1 with $24 million.

``The Fast and the Furious'' was clearly the big surprise of the weekend, outperforming even the increasingly bullish forecasts of Universal executives to become ``a flat-out phenomenon,'' in the words of Universal vice-chairman Marc Shmuger. Two weeks ago, the Vivendi Universal -owned studio was forecasting an opening in the $20 million range, he said in an interview.

``I think the audience sensed a really fresh movie that is a reflection of what's going on out there in the culture,'' Shmuger said, referring to the film's multiethnic cast and its depiction of car and street life.

The Rob Cohen-directed film, starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, revolves around a gang of Los Angeles racers who resort to crime to finance their activities. It was budgeted at a modest $38 million.

Studio polling showed that 76 percent of the audience was under 25, with males accounting for 55 percent of moviegoers. Sixty percent of viewers gave it an ``excellent'' rating versus a norm of 35 percent.

SLOW START FOR ``DOLITTLE''

``Dr. Dolittle 2,'' a well-reviewed family film marking the return of Murphy as a medic who talks with animals, was hurt by the competition and by the traditional unwillingness of family audiences to rush out to see a movie on the opening weekend.

However, Bruce Snyder, president of distribution at Twentieth Century Fox, predicted the film was ``in for a long, long run'' as good word of mouth spreads. Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. .

``Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,'' starring Angelina Jolie as the action heroine of the title, has racked up $84.2 million after 10 days. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc. .

``Atlantis,'' a relative disappointment in the Walt Disney Co. cartoon canon, has earned $32.6 million in 10 days of wide release. ``Shrek,'' the first release of 2001 to pass $200 million, has pulled in $215.8 million after 40 days for privately held DreamWorks.

New wide releases next Friday include writer/director Steve Spielberg's sci-fi drama ``A.I. Artificial Intelligence,'' starring Haley Joel Osment; ``Crazy/Beautiful,'' starring Kirsten Dunst; and the urban comedy ``Pootie Tang.'' John Singleton's ``Baby Boy'' opens on Wednesday.

The top movies in North America -- June 22-24

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the June 22-24 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. The Fast and the Furious .......... $40,089,015

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $40,089,015

2. Dr. Dolittle 2 .......... $25,037,039

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $25,037,039

3. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider .......... $19,786,356

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $83,820,442

4. Atlantis: The Lost Empire .......... $12,586,394

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $43,693,117

5. Shrek .......... $10,405,731

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $215,232,017

6. Swordfish .......... $7,718,758

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $53,229,341

7. Pearl Harbor .......... $6,818,896

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $171,886,718

8. Moulin Rouge .......... $3,851,923

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $43,433,722

9. Evolution .......... $3,287,925

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $32,320,026

10. The Animal .......... $2,911,346

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $51,237,870

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

John L.:  A strong week at the box office.  Fast and Furious may be the biggest box office surprise of all time.  The most generous projections for that movie were for it to gross around $20 million, but to earn more than $40 million in 3 days is unbelievable.  A full review of this movie later in the report.  Dr. Doolittle 2 is being called somewhat of a disappointment in its totals, but not really.  The competition was pretty strong and the movie is geared more toward the children which get discounted admissions.  DD2 opened very well in my opinion.  I saw both of the new movies, and what follows are my thoughts.

FAST AND THE FURIOUS - FULL REVIEW

Fast and the Furious is about the underground world of street racing.  This is an activity that has its roots back to the "Rebel Without a Cause" days where 2 cars race in a straight line for about a quarter of a mile and the first one to reach the finish wins either cash, someone's car, or even sometimes someone's woman.  This is not a legal activity since people tend to get hurt when they drive 140 miles an hour on street pavement.  In the movie, there are a group of thieves running around hijacking delivery trucks full of electronic equipment like DVD players.  The cops believe that the group of thieves are involved in street racing so they send in rookie officer, Brian Spindler, played by Paul Walker to go undercover and find out who is committing these brazen crimes.  Spindler finds a ragtag group of people led by Dom, played by Vin Diesel.  Dom may be the lead suspect in the robberies, or is he?  Problems arise when Spindler starts falling for Dom's sister, Mia, played by the very hot Jordana Brewster.  If Dom is a hijacker, can Spindler take him down even if it would hurt Mia?  Ah, but there is a chance that the true thieves are someone else and it is up to Spindler to find the truth before the police and the FBI rush in and screw everything up.  Fast and the Furious is just an excuse to have multiple car chase action sequences with little detail to story and character.  In terms of entertainment value, FATF is never boring.  Every conversation is about cars or ends in a fight.  If no one is talking, then they are driving really really fast.  Paul Walker is the cop trying to find out who is attacking trucks, and he is just okay in a one note role.  He is the typical undercover cop who gets to close to the action and has difficulty arresting people he has grown to care about.  It is standard drama, but a bit too predictable.  His affair with Brewster doesn't go anywhere but to its standard conclusion.  She is attractive, but is not really given much to do to stand out except to look cute when she smiles.  Brewster comes out of the film better than Michelle Rodriguez who was hyped up a while back for her debut work in "Girlfight" but like Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Pearl Harbor" she is given nothing of substance to do.  She walks around and stares and smirks most of the time and has 2 moments in a car.  She has potential to be a Rosie Perez who can talk, but if she keeps getting these pseudo tough girl roles, she will be looking at being unemployed or everything she does going straight to video.  This movie is really a vehicle, pardon the pun, for Vin Diesel.  He has been making waves in Hollywood since "Saving Private Ryan" and broke out as a potential star with his "Pitch Black" role.  Diesel has still never topped being the voice of the Iron Giant though, which is his best work.  He does the best job in the acting department.  The tough guy persona Diesel has here is done very well, and he mixes it with enough subtlety to show that he is a guy who garners respect and deserves it.  Vin has a good future in the business, and this movie should help increase his salary quote.   FATF is pretty mindless, but it never tries to be more than it is, a race car action movie.  For most of the film, it is tolerable on that level.  The movie falls apart though when it tries to resolve the conflicts.  The ending of the film is a mess.  It was so bad that I can't even truly recommend the flick and keep a good conscious.  The answer to who is the hijacker is sort of explained, but the ones who get punished for it are not necessarily the culprits.  The movie needed another 10 or 15 minutes to figure things out, but it just stops at a convenient point.  A stronger finale would have made the movie better.  The last 2 action sequences are the best in the film involving a truck and the other 2 motorcylces.  Those 2 scenes and the one where Ja Rule gets a sweet incentive to win a race are my favorite parts of the film.  For those 3 moments, I say see the picture.  Overall, it was a fun ride, but it petered out at the end to a burnout.  Final review:  2 1/2 stars out of 5; 5 1/2 out of 10; C+; thumbs down.  A better ending would have made the movie a thumbs up.  

DR. DOOLITTLE 2 - FULL REVIEW

Right off the bat I am going to say that I did not like the first Dr. Doolittle with Eddie Murphy.  It was never all that funny and the special effects on the animals to make them talk were poorly realized and very obvious as being a special effect.  I was not looking forward to seeing the sequel and was ashamed for Murphy, who I used to be a huge fan of in his R rated movie days, for taking the role.  After sitting through the sequel, I must say that Eddie is back in my good graces.  Dr. Doolittle 2 is one of my favorite movies of the year.  Eddie Murphy once again plays the good doctor who can converse with the wilds of nature.  What is amazing about this is how it is not a telepathic communication, but a verbal one.  When the animals talk to him, they movie their lips in sync with what they would be saying in english.  I hate that by the way.  It never made sense on Star Trek, and it does not make sense here that their lips would move like that.  The audience is supposed to be able to understand the animals so we can hear all of the different celebrity voices, but I wish they did not take the time to animate the mouths.  It is not necessary and is not how it would work.  Forgiving that, the animal animation is done a lot better than it was in the first movie.  It is creepy to see the mouths move like that though.  The plot of this film is that the forest is about to be torn down to sell the lumber.  This would cause the wildlife to lose their homes.  The only way to save the area is to find an endangered species and show that it has potential to procreate and making the land protected.  Fortunately there is a Pacific Northwest bear living on the land who is endangered.  Unfortunately, it is the last one and there are no other bears like it to help repopulate the species.  Fortunately, there is a Pacific Northwest Bear in town.  Unfortunately it is a circus bear who has never had any time in the wild to learn how to take care of itself.  So, Doolittle is hired by the forest creatures to help turn Archie the circus bear into Archie the mack daddy of the land and mate with Ava the bear so that the deforesters will not take over.  What ensues is endless scenes of Eddie pimping out Archie to Ava while still trying to get close to his wife and handle is blossoming daughter Charisse, played by Raven Symone.  Along the way Eddie has to deal with the crazy raccoon, rival bears, a pack of wolves, a chameleon who can't blend in, a drunk monkey, and oh yeah, his dog Lucky voiced by the very excellent Norm MacDonald.  The movie is silly and not the funniest comedy ever made, but it has a certain sweetness about it that I got into.  I really felt bad for Archie when he brings Ava a fish and she still goofs on him for not getting her a 100 of them.  Lucky's quest to get with the wolf is pretty funny as well. Norm MacDonald's delivery is great and he gets to let loose a bit more here than he did in the first movie.  Raven Symone gets more to do here than she did in DD1 when the other sister, Mya was the star child.  Mya is sent to the background, while the Charisse character causes more trouble for Doolittle than Archie.  Charisse is starting to date boys, and that is the type of animal the good doctor wants to keep away from his daughter.  I fell for the entire plot and structure of the film.  This movie is not for everyone.  It is barely for kids.  The plot centers around 2 bears screwing, and that can be a little risque for children who might not understand exactly how those 2 are going to do that.  Little kids will laugh at the slapstick, but the plot may confuse them.  Older kids will find the film a bit too tame.  It does not try to be too outrageous.  Lots of peeing and bird dropping humor is the standard big laugh you get in the flick.  Murphy shows that he is a multi talented actor who has evolved quite nicely over his 20 year career.  I still prefer him cursing and causing more mayhem, but he ever since he got married in real life and had 5 kids, he has mellowed. A kinder gentler Eddie Murphy is the rule now.  Axel Foley need not apply I guess.  It is hard to believe that Murphy has gone from singing "Roxanne" in a jail cell to smelling a bear crap in the woods.  The guy is amazing and is having a great year with his work in Shrek being applauded nationwide.  Steve Zahn or "Out of Sight" fame is great as Archie.  He sounds sort of like David Spade.  Lisa Kudrow as Ava is also funny in her pivotal role.  Everyone's favorite, the French monkey is back and is given more screen time.  Dr. Doolittle 2 is a nice movie that you can take the whole family to.  It makes you feel good, and very few movies out there do that nowadays.  I really really enjoyed this film, and is definitely on my list of best films of 2001.  Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 1/2 out of 10; B+; thumbs up.  This might be a guilty pleasure of mine, but I am still going to kiss its ass.  In fact, it put me in such a good mood, I gave to the Jimmy Fund when the usher brought the can around.  That says something.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10

1.    Tomb Raider fell off quite a bit this week, but is still doing very well at the box office.

2.    Now if the writers of the Tomb Raider sequel can just think of a character with the name of Billy Bob that Lara falls in love with then, Jolie won't have to wear that horrible makeup splotch on her arm that sticks out so horribly in the movie.

3.     I bet Jolie would ask for less money if she was able to not have to cover up her crazy tattoos.

4.    Atlantis is starting to fade quicker than Disney would like, but its their own fault for making a movie without any catchy tunes.

5.    With Shrek in the number 5 spot this week, it makes this the first time Eddie Murphy has had 2 films in the top 10 at the same time.

6.    Swordfish is not a big hit, but it is holding up much better than expected by most pundits.

7.    I still don't see how Pearl Harbor making over a $170 million can be considered a big disappointment.

8.    Moulin Rouge would have been a bigger success if Lil' Kim, Mya, Pink, and Christina Aguilera did a nationwide tour of movie theaters to perform "Lady Marmalade" live in the lobby of movie theaters showing the movie while wearing lingerie. 

9.    David Duchovny's wife, Tea Leoni is in Jurassic Park 3, which will gross more in its initial 3 days than Evolution will in its entire box office run.

10.    The Animal is about to be voted off the box office top 10 next week.

AI: Artificial Intelligence comes out next week and is surrounded in secrecy.  It was the love child of the late Stanley Kubrick, and Steven Spielberg took over to complete the film.  It has been hyped on the internet for months now, and next week we shall see if it was worth the trouble to create all of those bogus web sites about mecha rights.  A full review will be posted.  Also next week we have Baby Boy, the new John Singleton hood epic.  Snoop Dogg is the rapper of the choice as the costar in that one.  Chris Rock shows up in his Pootie Tang opus.  I have only watched his HBO show sporadically, and I have only a vague remembrance of Mr. Tang.  The previews do not look good, and I will be very surprised if this movie makes it into the top 10.  We shall see.  Bye for now.