With Jim Sabatini

Furry Vengeance

Rated: PG some rude humor, mild language and brief smoking
Reviewed by: Nina
Release date: April 30, 2010	Released by: Summit Entertainment

The opening scene of the movie has a squirrel standing in the middle of the road screaming after he is narrowly missed by a speeding SUV – that's what you feel like doing for the rest of the movie – screaming! This movie is flat, unremarkable, full of silly pranks, talking animals and weak acting.

It seems that Brendan Frasier, badly in need of a makeover, has chosen to do family oriented movies but has failed to pick one with any content. He is a suck-up employee for a mean land developer boss that has no regard for the animal reserve they are proposing to destroy to build new homes. Brooke Shields adds very little as the suffering wife who has been transplanted away from her beloved Chicago to support her husband in his new job. The son, played by Matt Prokop, has promise as a Zac Effron type actor but also adds very little.

There are some funny moments, the contractor foreman, played by Ricky Garcia, is a "yes" man for all times, even performing when it comes to cleaning out his boss' skunk infested vehicle - more than once! The animals have all of these secret plans to thwart the humans from succeeding but just don't seem to pull it off. Skunks and racoons are cute but through the whole movie? Not really.

All the other funny situations, including the predictable "caught in the portable john" scene only get a brief laugh when they open the door and all you get to see are the reactions on the faces of the onlookers. Gratefully, it was short, luckily it provideds some chuckles, and fortunately, it was over fast. You actually need popcorn or candy to keep you awake until the end so you can get up to leave. Take a friend - you'll need someone to keep you awake!