DVD Review: Mr. Brooks

Tweet

RSSS

Tweet

Mr. Brook (2007)–**
DVD Review

Mr. Brooks isn’t a stupid movie. It’s not even a bad movie. But it certainly is a movie that thinks it’s better than it is. Because of that, a film that could have been a black comedy with a hint of Silence of the Lambs rather finds itself looking more like the Stepford Wives remake.

Kevin Coster stars as Earl Brooks, Portland area Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, loving husband, caring father, and generally a good guy. When he’s not running his box company, he’s fighting his addiction: murder.

One night, when Mr. Brooks falls off the wagon, amateur photographer and professional voyeur Mr. Smith (Dane Cook) catches him in the act. Instead of going to the cops, Mr. Smith has an idea. He wants to follow Brooks on his next murder. But Brooks is having problems at home (his daughter may be following in his footsteps) and there’s a smart, independently wealthy policewoman (Demi Moore) on his trail. Fortunately, Brooks is an intelligent killer, one we can trust to find a way out of his predicament, even if it kills him.

The allure of Mr. Brooks isn’t just the idea of leading man Costner playing against type; it’s that he’s playing against type with William Hurt backing him up the whole way. Hurt plays a schizophrenic delusion who coaches Brooks along the way, helping the serial killer clean up his messes and giving him a hand when Brooks is doing a crossword puzzle. Thanks to Conster and Hurt’s back and forth, there are times when I laughed at the film, but with all the darkly comedic elements, I can’t help but feel that the movie wanted me to laugh.

College humor comedian Dane Cook is oddly suited for his role as the voyeur, matching the film’s campy undertone just enough to give his character credence. He is casting is just preposterous enough to make sense as the film weaves its way to the conclusion.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Mr. Brooks certainly isn’t the movie it could have been. Much of the momentum is lost on Demi Moore’s character, who must contend with a gold-digging, soon-to-be ex-husband. Moore’s casting is preposterous, much like Cook’s, but she doesn’t seem to get the movie like Cook, Costner, and Hurt do. This darkly comic thriller could have succeeded with someone whose comedic credentials are slightly more impressive than a lead in Striptease.

The thought that kept racing through my mind, even while watching Moore trample the production, was the sophisticated Mr. Brooks would make a better TV series than it does a movie. In fact, Showtime’s terrible serial killer hour-long Dexter could learn a thing or two from Mr. Brooks. The character dynamics in Mr. Brooks are certainly more interesting than those in Dexter. Yet, Mr. Brooks often finds itself giving over to a glossy, faux noir tone that counters its camp.

The disc does offer a commentary and two making-of featurettes explaining director Bruce Evans’s production. Like the film, however, the DVD doesn’t dig deep enough to make Mr. Brooks anything more than slightly entertaining.

Mr. Brooks, directed by Bruce A. Evans and starring Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore and Dane Cook, is now available on DVD.