If the Path of Least Resistance Is All You Ever Take...

At Least You've Been Consistent

OK, this might not be as bad as the previously noted remake of Burt Reynolds' long-forgotten Sharkey's Machine, but it certainly fits into the pattern of my continued Hollywood Death Watch. From today's Dark Horizons:

Steve Bendelack ("The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse") is set to direct "Bean II" for Working Title Films reports Ananova.

In this film, a sequel to the successful 1997 film spin-off of the classic English sitcom, the hapless Mr. Bean travels to South France on holiday.

Hmmm... this all sounds vaguely familiar...

Monsieur Hulot goes on a holiday to a seaside resort, but accidents and misunderstandings follow him where ever he goes. The peace and quiet of the hotel guests don't last very long with Hulot around, because although his intensions are good, they always turn out catastrophically.

And to put an even finer point on it, here's the opening to the review of Mr. Hulot's Holiday (aka, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot) from Amazon.com:

Forefather of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean, Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot--a recurring character in several of his movies--is a blithely clumsy troublemaker, an insouciant twit who leaves uproar in his wake without being aware of it.

Look, I'm not completely steadfast in my anti-remake policy (there are certainly older movies that can benefit from a second look... I, for one, still think Americathon is perfectly ripe for an update), and I certainly enjoy a good homage (just watched 12 Monkeys again this weekend with Mrs. F, which takes inspiration from Chris Marker's more obscure La Jetée), and I'll most likely head out over Memorial Day weekend to see X-Men. But I'm less and less likely to spend my time heading to the multi-plex when all I've got are flavors that I've already tasted.

But I guess Rowan Atkinson needs to pay the rent... (hey, don't we all?).

[Cue the Soundtrack: the title of this post comes from "Author Unknown" on Jason Falkner's under-appreciated Can You Still Feel?]