Movie Review: George of the Jungle (1997)

Let me start out by saying: I am a Brendan Frasier fan. I am not a hardcore Brendan Frasier fan, but I have been known to watch Brendan Frasier movies simply because I know he is in them. This list would include The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Blast from the Past and Encino Man.

That being said, I think I owe it all to this little gem of a movie, George of the Jungle, and this movie has probably become one of my favorite movies of all time, in that stealthy, Princess Bride sort of way. You know: whenever you ask someone what their favorite movie is, they never say, "The Princess Bride", but whenever you mention it everyone says, "I love that movie!"

The Good:
- Brendan Frasier brings everything to this movie. Not only his goofiness, but his willingness to really sink in to the spirit of the character and, frankly, make a ham of himself
- Leslie Mann (Ursula), Thomas Haden Church (Lyle), John Cleese (Ape), and all the rest of the supporting actors likewise give themselves over to the roles and the genre and contribute to a totally cheesy but utterly worthwhile movie.
- Kids love this movie. Or at least, my kids love this movie, which is what matters to me. I can't tell you how many Saturday mornings this movie has gotten me through, because invariably mentioning George of the Jungle results in me being able to 'nap' on the couch for 90 minute while the kids bounce and jump.
- The movie is totally clean. Thanks to the genre of the movie, the worst word spoken on screen is 'poopie' - uttered by the horrible, stinky, really bad guy, Lyle. There are a couple of fart gags, but I don't have a problem with that.
- The soundtrack is excellent, and if it wasn't 'rare' (read 'expensive) I would own a copy.
- Okay, scratch that. I found a used 'good' copy on Amazon for under $9 with shipping. Buying....NOW.

The Bad:
- I got nothing.

Best Scene:
Okay, the best scene in the entire movie is the seduction scene at the waterfall. Once again, Brendan Frasier wholly commits to his role, and the background music (Marvin Gaye's "Let's get it on") comes in at the perfect moment.

Don't Miss:
- Lyle calling Kwame ("Quah-may") "Quaym".

Quotable Lines:
- "Funny lookin' fella." and also "Somethin' wrong with this fella!" - George
- "George go investigate!" - George
- "Meanwhile, at a very large and expensive waterfall set..." - Narrator
- "Pretty DARN good!" - George
- "Thank you Gunter, Gunner, Hans, Franz, and Phil." - Lyle

Personal Note:
Those of you who know my brother will find this funny: when the movie came out, the lead character was favorably compared with him, especially since he had just bleached his (long) hair for prom, and was prone to running around barefoot, although not (usually) bare-chested or sporting a 'butt-flap'.

Final Grade:
Overall, I'd have to give this movie an A+. The only way this movie fails is if you are looking for a serious or deep movie. Since that is rarely the case with me, I can find no fault with it, and whole-heartedly recommend it for your movie library.