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Fat Albert

Fat Albert Review by Gareth Von Kallenbach

In the time honored Hollywood tradition of remaking the past, comedian Bill Cosby has at long last seen his standup and cartoon character Fat Albert arrive on the big screen.

In the live action version of the classic series which ran in the 70’s Fat Albert (Kenyan Thompson), is once again playing with his friends in the familiar Philadelphia Junkyard when he is interrupted by the tears of a girl named Doris (Kyla Pratt). It seems that Doris (who lives in the real world), is unhappy and Albert, who is always wanting to help a person in need, travels through the television along with most of his gang to help out.

Needless to say that Albert and his gang do not fit in the real world as they are taken aback by computers, cell phones, and all manner of modern conveniences. Further complicating the matter is that Doris is unsure what to do with her new guests as they tend to stand out and she is unable to send them back home until the next episode of their show airs, which will be the afternoon of the following day.

Along the way Albert and company make friends and get the attention of a few schemers who want them out of the way so they can have Doris and her attractive relative Lori ( Dania Ramirez), to themselves.

One further issue is that the longer Albert and company stay in the real world, the more they fade out as they are cartoon characters that are not meant to exist in reality. In a race against time, Albert must save the day and return with his gang to the television not only to save themselves but to save their beloved junkyard for those who want to claim it for themselves in the absence of Albert and his gang.

While the movie is non offensive, it also plays very blandly. I was a fan of the original show but all this film did was make me nostalgic to watch the cartoon series. The actors do their best, but the very weak plot and lack of character development makes this film ideal for those under 12 but not for those much older. There were some cute moments in the film, but they were to few and far between for me and it underscored the fact that what was cute and enjoyable in 30 minute installments becomes labored and tedious when drawn out over nearly 90 minutes. My advice, go get the original series on DVD and watch it with your family and save this one for a rainy day rental

2 stars out of 5

gareth@nwlink.com