Mr. Bean's Vacation
Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 26
  3. Negative: 4 out of 26
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  1. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Tirdad Derakhshani
    75
    A former Bean hater, I've been converted by Holiday, Atkinson's second, and far superior film version of his TV hit.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    Either you'll find the man hilarious -- or he'll seem like one of those awful, tedious comedians who only THINKS he's hilarious.
  3. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    75
    Like the comic stars of the silent era, Mr. Bean's character transcends language barriers.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    75
    Atkinson's goofball grotesquerie never lets up -- right through to the inspired finale.
  5. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    75
    If you're not a die-hard "Bean" fan, this is probably no place for you. But it's mercifully short (87 minutes), the French scenery is pleasant, a handful of the routines are hilarious and -- with its G rating -- you can definitely bring the kids.
  6. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    75
    Since Mr. Bean rarely speaks a complete sentence, the effect is of watching a silent movie with sound effects. This was also the dramatic ploy of the great French director-performer Jacques Tati, who is clearly the big influence here.
  7. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    70
    Atkinson remains an expert clown, and there are sufficient numbers of gags to ensure that Bean fans worldwide will be kept fairly happy.
  8. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    70
    Beautifully worked out, and the movie's final sight gag, set to Charles Trenet's shimmery seaside masterpiece, "La Mer," is a gracefully orchestrated bit of silliness that's a visual love sonnet to Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton and, yes, Tati.
  9. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    70
    It may be a stretch to call this mugging moron sympathetic, but it’s surprising how enjoyable Mr. Bean can be when he’s actually given a hint of humanity.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Andy Webster
    70
    The kids at my screening loved it. Besides, at its heart, Mr. Atkinson’s movie, a huge hit overseas, speaks in an international language.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    70
    This is a thoroughly Euro bedmate to the 1997 "Bean," with the Gauls rather than the Yanks as the butt of Bean's bumblings.
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    70
    Do you Bean? If you do Bean, rejoice. Bean is back. If you don't Bean, here's a chance to start. Bean now, or forever hold your peace.
  13. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    63
    The movie gets full marks for earning its G rating: no violence, no cursing, no sex or nudity, no drugs, not even a rogue cigarette blotting the landscape. It's easier to achieve this rating when your hero barely speaks and has little consciousness of the adult world, but "Holiday" proves it can be done-and should be more often.
  14. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: David Germain
    58
    While Mr. Bean's Holiday is hardly a memorable vacation, Atkinson proves an agreeably silly tour guide.
  15. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Amelie Gillette
    58
    A very cute movie. Unfortunately, cute is rarely funny.
  16. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    50
    Ruthlessly skilled as Atkinson is, the Bean persona of generic, maniacally grinning ineptitude owes most of its appeal to seeing just how far an actor can pull a face without pulling a muscle.
  17. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    There are certain elements in life that you either have a taste for, or you don't. Like coffee. Cats. And Mr. Bean.
  18. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    50
    Only intermittently funny.
  19. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    50
    This time, it's not because mainstream movie-goers in this country lack taste but because the film isn't worth buying a ticket to see. Mr. Bean's Holiday is no vacation.
  20. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    50
    There is a guilty-pleasure quality to watching Atkinson at work even when Mr. Bean has overstayed his welcome. The film's lightness makes you wish you were the one headed to the beach.
  21. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    50
    Director Steve Bendelack and writer-producer Simon McBurney aim for the comedy of Chaplin, Keaton, and Tati, relying heavily on sight gags and their star's pratfalls and facial contortions, but they vititate the comic payoffs by allowing scenes to run too long.
  22. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    40
    If you like the character – his tooty yellow Mini, his busily working beetlebrows, his tendency to point and grunt and eat shellfish whole – then you will be rewarded with 90 minutes of such.
  23. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    38
    Picks up steam when it finally arrives in Cannes just in time to wreak yet more havoc at the big film festival, but getting there is pretty tedious. A little of the wildly mugging Atkinson goes a long way.
  24. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    38
    If you've been lobotomized or have the mental age of a kindergartener, Mr. Bean's Holiday is viable comic entertainment.
  25. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Natalia Cuevas
    38
    There are certainly some laughs to be had in Holiday (mostly of the "so dumb it’s funny" variety), but not much else.
  26. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    25
    An excruciating series of gags aimed at kids old enough to think it's funny when a grown-up acts like a small child.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 4 out of 21
  1. grandpajoe6191
    4
    Rowan Atkinson does a decent job in filling in the laughs for "Mr. Bean's Vacation". However, the movie itself is useless in every means.
  2. eaicneu
    10
    It was the funniest movie I've ever seen. I loved when Mr. Bean was singing opera. It was very intelligent. I loved when he ate the oysters and put it in the woman's purse. I loved when Mr. Bean ate the shrimp. I loved the movie in the movie. It was funny when Mr. Bean lost his bus ticket on the chicken's foot. I loved when he knocked over the man's coffee. I would give it a 100! I loved when he wrote all the possibilities on his passport to call on his boy's dad.… Full Review »
  3. G-RadAndrew
    4
    Didn't you notice, they kind of ran out of ideas for Rowan Atkinson to act out. Sure some of it was a little funny, but overall it was a blasphemy of disaster.… Full Review »
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