* * * moviereviews . org has been asked to start collecting a list of readers in the washington , dc area who would be interested in attending advanced promotional screenings of major motion pictures for free . if this interests you , please e-mail moviereviews . org at <a href= " mailto : passes@moviereviews . org " >passes@moviereviews . org</a> with your name and zip code ( to verify that you are in the washington , dc area ) . then check back at moviereviews . org ( <a href= " http : //www . moviereviews . org " >http : //www . moviereviews . org</a> ) as often as you like to see what screenings you could be eligible to attend ! * * * ---starting on christmas eve you can hear mac verstandig's movie reviews on the radio in portland , maine once a week in addition to reading them on moviereviews . org . details on time and dial placement still to come . stay tuned ! --- * * * a copy of this review can be found at <a href= " http : //www . moviereviews . org/bicentennial_man . htm " >http : //www . moviereviews . org/bicentennial_man . htm</a> * * * bicentennial man is an impuissant and confused movie that follows a robot through 200 years neglecting to ever develop another character in depth or share with the audience that the title-referenced bicentennial will mark the end of a journey that seems to be equally as long and laborious for the audience . director chris columbus' film centers around a not-very-entertaining robin williams as andrew , the aforementioned machine , and his trials and tribulations which are as unexplored as the west indies that other guy named columbus supposedly discovered . in " the not too distant future " we meet the martin family and their newest household appliance : andrew . our protagabot ventures from generation to generation of a cliched and overly dull martin family- mostly women . he also comes across a few other humans and robots , but none interesting enough to warrant any attention in this review . they come and go , andrew stays , and the movie limps it way through a jetsons-style future setting . now banished to a fate worse than ordinary reruns , tv land , there was a delightful 1960's don adams show ( that fox unsuccessfully tried to bring back a few years ago ) called get smart . richard gautier , a relative unknown that never ventured past g . i . joe fame , played hymie the robot . much like andrew , hymie was a machine that actively sought life and commonly found himself in hilarious situations were his inner-workings were experimented with ineptly . hymie was friendly and romantic , yet inevitably robotic . richard gautier may not be robin williams , but the show is just as funny and doesn't cost $7 . 75 and an otherwise good friday or saturday night . the positive end of this almost-dead battery does have some traits of which to boast . in a time where they are rare , bicentennial man is a movie that you needn't be embarrassed to take grandma and the tots to . robin williams is very funny and touching with some traditional disney tear-jerking scenes . the explanation offered of sex is edited to a level of general appropriateness . but the movie is even confused about its family traits as we learn that being human is the ultimate accomplishment and you needn't mourn the dead ( for all those that pass away , only one tear is seen ) . we are also told that imperfection is the key to life and marriage can be taken lightly . this film also marks 1999's christmas time family film that most wants to be the next miracle on 34th street or it's a wonderful life . last year , chris columbus entered stepmom into this notorious yet largely unspoken contest , following his slightly more appealing earlier bids which include home alone and mrs . doubtfire . mr . capra , rest assured , we don't need a robot to locate the west indies . 
