| Not
that "Thunderpants" stinks, exactly. British director Pete Hewitt's
movie has some charming touches, notably a winning performance from Rupert Grint
- last seen as red-haired Ron Weasley in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone".
Grint again plays
the hero's sidekick. This time he's the best friend of hapless Patrick Smash (Cook),
the boy with the wayward sphincter. Luckily, Grint's Alan A Allen is a child prodigy
who lacks a sense of smell.
A scientific genius,
Alan channels his pal's gift for farting into the creation of the eponymous Thunderpants,
a series of Heath Robinson-like inventions that eventually attract the attention
of the US Space Centre.
By then, however,
first-time screenwriter Phil Hughes' script has long exhausted the comic potential
of Patrick's bodily emissions. It's a shame that "Thunderpants" is a
one-joke movie, since Hewitt displays a good eye for visual comedy.
As he did in his
1997 adaptation of Mary Norton's children's classic "The Borrowers",
Hewitt looks to 50s Britain for inspiration. Chris Roope's amusing colour-coordinated
set design takes its cues from the era, but without anchoring the film in a strictly
definable period.
Instead, "Thunderpants"
floats freely in a whimsical fantasy world, one in which a boy's ability to fart
explosively can transform him from social misfit to hero of the hour.
"Thunderpants"
opens in UK cinemas on Friday 24th May 2002.
Reviewed by Jason
Best, BBC Films
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