Osmosis Jones

This film takes place in two different worlds. One is the real world with human beings, starring Bill Murray as the really un-hygienic guy, and the other is the animated world inside Murray’s body, consisting of cells and germs (that talk!) trying to run his system from within. Osmosis Jones is one of the cells inside his body.

A very original story told in a very unique manner that doesn’t necessarily hold together as tightly as an overall picture, with limited laughs, tension or attachment to its characters, and very few memorable moments on which to chew afterwards. I’ve been impressed with quite a number of animated movies over the past couple of years, but this one just didn’t do all that much for me. It’s a movie that seemed lost in its journey to find the perfect target audience, by including bits and pieces for every cultural, age and ratings demographic, but just not coming together as an effective, cohesive whole in the end. Sure, a couple of laughs sprout up here and there, the disgusting stuff is really gross and Bill Murray should be commended for allowing himself to look so bad in this film, but does it entertain throughout? Not really. It’s got its moments and it’s definitely sparked by an original streak, with a very clever look at the inside of one’s body by way of an “underworld” living within, but when all is said and done, I just sat there and didn’t really feel much either way. And even now, when I look back, there isn’t really much about the movie that bowled me over.

It’s actually ideally suited for the video market. The kids will dig on the gross stuff like snot running out of a man’s nose and a zit popping onto a woman’s lips, the teens will likely appreciate the hip-hop soundtrack and most adults might get a kick out of Chris Rock’s voice portraying a white blood cell. Just don’t expect much “oomph” from this film, because that’s one aspect which seems to have been left on the cutting room floor when the picture went from a PG-13 rating to a PG. In the end, the bad guy is kinda bad, the laughs are kinda funny and the ending is kinda predictable, all of which equal a so-so film, not required to be seen on the big screen. In fact, the last sequence in the film features some really awful CGI work (the eyelash stuff!) that felt like it still needed about a week’s work and for the love of God and all that is holy in this world, can someone please tell everyone in Hollywood that we are no longer amused by MATRIX parodies…I mean, c’mon man!! But overall, the film does contain a handful of clever scenes featuring characters and places set inside our bodies, which did entertain me somewhat, so I guess I’m about half-half on this movie. Not a killer flick but definitely not a snoozer either.

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian