# Just Visiting (2001)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

Just Visiting (2001) 2 stars out of 4.. Starring Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Matthew Ross, Malcolm McDowell, Tara Reid and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. Screenplay by Christian Clavier & Jean-Marie Poire and John Hughes. Based on Les Visiteurs written by Jean-Marie Poire and Christian Clavier. Directed by Jean-Marie Gaubert. Rated PG-13. 88 minutes.

It appears something was lost in the translation when the creative team behind the 1993 French comedy blockbuster Les Visiteurs remade it for Hollywood Pictures as Just Visiting.

Just Visiting has moments of hilarity, but it lacks a cohesion. It plays more like a linked series of comedy sketches than a feature film.

Reprising their roles from the original film are Jean Reno as Count Thibault of Malfete and Christian Clavier as his servant, Andre. Also on board are the original director, Jean-Marie Gaubert, as well as screenwriters Clavier and Jean-Marie Poire. The American addition to the screenwriting team is John Hughes.

Yes, that John Hughes, the man behind the obnoxious Home Alone movies.

It would be so simple to blame the filmís failures on Hughes, but they go deeper than that. Basically, the problem with Just Visiting is dead time. The sequences in which Reno as the 12th century nobleman, and Clavier, as his always-hungry lackey, are not involved are static. They are merely redundant expository filler.

Ah, but when Reno and Clavier are on screen the movie comes to life. Even though it grows a bit wearisome watching the duo repeatedly act confused, overwhelmed and confounded by modern technology and culture, the bits are funny ó if not overly obvious.

The two wash themselves with water from the toilet, Thibault covers himself with Chanel No. 5, Clavier wolfs down dog food as if it were a sirloin steak. Well, you get the idea.

Clavier is the filmís scene stealer. His willing-to-please Andre is a wide-eyed buffoon, always looking for a morsel or a damsel.

Christina Applegate is rather bland as Julia, Thibaultís modern-day descendant, while Matthew Ross does nothing but mug outrageously as her scheming fiancé, Hunter.

Malcolm McDowell has a couple of funny bits as the inept wizard who accidentally transports the two Frenchmen to modern-day America.

Reno wisely plays it straight as the chivalrous and romantic count. He is a good actor and knows that the best way to get a laugh in certain situations is to play them seriously. This he does throughout, and it helps keep Just Visiting afloat.

Just Visiting is merely so-so. It has its moments, but lacks a certain quality that would raise it above the merely routine. At 88 minutes, itís an uneven venture offering scattered laughs and a guffaw or two.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com. or at bobbloom@iquest.net Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom

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