Made in an attempt to jump on the horror animated comedy started by Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and continued by Corpse Bride and the upcoming Coraline, Exodus Film Group's Igor generates few laughs and wastes the genuine talent in its voice cast.
What's It About?
In the permanently overcast kingdom of Malaria, hunchbacked Igor (John Cusack) toils endlessly for the incompetent Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese). Glickenstein wants to build an invention so he'll win the Evil Science Fair, an annual event held by King Malbert (Jay Leno) so that he can use said invention to blackmail the rest of the world.
But when a lab accident permanently removes Glickenstein, Igor builds his own monster, hoping to win the Evil Science Fair. But Igor not only has to contend with the fact that his monster (Molly Shannon) refuses to be evil, but also must match wits with the cunning Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard). This rival doctor has won 17 times before – generally by stealing other people's inventions – and this time, he wants to steal Malaria's throne.
Given the talent on display – the usually-reliable Cusack joined by top comedians such as John Cleese, Eddie Izzard and Jay Leno – this film would be a hoot, right?
Not so fast. Igor tries for a cross between Shrek and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but fails on both counts. The characters are underwritten and the dialogue's pretty leaden, while Chris McKenna's script also has a bad habit of using voice-overs to tell the audience what they've already figured out. McKenna also brings in the Amazing Coincidental Machine – plus the ever-reliable characters-acting-out-of-character-to-further-the-plot device – in order to drive the flick forward. This script really shows its seams in some places.
Cusack, Shannon, Leno and Cleese try hard with what they have (which isn't much) while Izzard pretty much phones his performance in. The best laughs come from Steve Buscemi's Scamper, a suicidal rabbit cursed with immortality, and Sean Hayes as an imbecilic brain in a jar.
DVD Extras
The audio commentary by director Tony Leondis, writer Chris McKenna and producer Max Howard is very interesting and informative: one almost wishes they were discussing a better film.
There's also an alternate opening scene that is about as good as the one in the actual movie (translation: not very good), plus a few concept art galleries, storyboard images and posters.
There's also a comic book that essentially retells the story of the movie, without any of the jokes. In other words, it's a waste of time.
The Final Analysis
Given that, according to Box Office Mojo, Igor only made $28 million worldwide, it's safe to say that not many people were interested in this film. That probably also kills any plans Harvey Weinstein ever had to make an Igor 2.
Much like the creature Igor creates in this flick, this movie is a shambling monstrosity, filled with ideas liberally lifted from other, better films.
Give Igor a pass. 4/10
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