Entertainment in a Glance

Director : Brad Silberling
Writers (WGA):Chris Henchy (written by) & Dennis McNicholas (written by)
Release Date:5 June 2009 (USA)
Genre:Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Land of the Lost is typical Will Ferrell. This statement alone will cause some to flock to the theater and others to opt out of this latest comedy-adventure which is based, though rather loosely, on the Saturday morning TV show of the same name. Sad part is that the only people loosing out are the kids. Parents who may have wanted to share a part of their childhood nostalgia with their preteens will not have the option with this crude laden adaptation. Cha-ka and the sleestacks will have to be shared in other ways. And to be honest, though I am not surprised, I am a little disappointed in producers Sid and Marty Krofft. They should have at least tried to make something fun and kid friendly. It isn’t an impossible task. You just have to try.

Down and out scientist Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is encouraged to give his time travel gizmo one more shot by fellow colleague Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel). This causes them, along with theme park tour guide Will Stanton (Danny McBride) to be sucked down a waterfall into the land of the lost. There they befriend an exiled primate named Cha-ka (Jorma Taccone) and do battle against dinosaurs, giant bugs and those walking zombie sleestacks. The purpose is to retrieve the time travel apparatus and return to earth before the head sleestacks finds it and invades the planet.

I will not say I didn’t laugh a few times during the film but I also didn’t pay to see it. So the couple of laughs were a bonus. If you are paying 8 bucks a pop for a movie ticket then that equates to about $2.50 per laugh. In these economic times that just isn’t a good return on the investment. Plus it is the same Will Ferrell that you have seen time and time again. He brings nothing new to the table. Add that to the unnecessary boob jokes that we all out grew (except Hollywood writers) when we were 14 then you end up with a plot that is based on popularity but brings little substance.

Again I emphasize that it is the younger viewers that miss out. I can see where Cha-ka and the dinosaur could have been pretty funny to the 10 and up crowd if written correctly. The relationship between Ferrell and Cha-ka made for a foundation of fun antagonistic moments. But to have Ferrell cursing at him constantly alienates a huge crowd. Now the argument would be that they wanted to make a more adult comedy. If that is the case then write something clever and not just one boob joke after another.

Land of the Lost is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference. That would be forgivable if it was limited to one or two scenes. But it is ongoing for the entire 93 minutes. The film ends up appealing to boys 13-14 years old. Anyone older should find it stupid and anyone younger should not see it. I give it 2 out of 5 Cha-Ka cons. They say that dinosaurs have a brain the size of a walnut but I am beginning to think it is the Hollywood writers who fit that bill. So says Matt Mungle