Williams' flabby 'Flubber' flounders

Flubber is a movie that, from the outset, loses sight of its major star. No, I don't mean the goofy Robin Williams, but the actual substance of flubber, the sole gimmick of this uninspired movie. The green, elastic and vivacious concoction that bounces its way in and out of trouble falls prey to one of the most predictable and boring plot formulas ever put on film.

REVIEW
	Flubber At Briarwood and Showcase

Phillip Brainard (Robin Williams) is a professor at Medfield College. A success in the world of science but a failure in the game of life, the absent-minded professor manages to leave his bride-to-be, Sara (Marcia Gay Harden), the dean of the college, at their wedding altar on three separate occasions.

The third time Brainard misses his wedding, he is inventing a rubbery substance that flies, hence the name "flubber." The green stuff, he figures, can save his college from the loan shark Chester Hoenicker (Raymond J. Barry).

Brainard has a personal assistant in the form of a flying robot named WEEBO, one who loves her master from afar and sacrifices herself to make her little professor happy. The whiny contraption finally dies near the end of the movie, eliciting quite a few tears from the professor and a sigh of relief from this reviewer. This scene is profoundly funny because of the absurdity of the whole situation.

Robin Williams plays with his magic goo.

One of the few entertaining scenes takes place as the flubber is let loose within the professor's house. What results is pure magic and majestic silliness, as flubber characters dance with tutus and authentic steps. Amusing and almost comical, this scene is about as interesting as the movie gets.

To prevent his love from being wooed by the creep and all-around bad guy Wilson Croft (Christopher McDonald), Brainard must help the Medley basketball team win a game. He proceeds to dilute the green goo and spray it on the hands and shoes of the players. Of course, the team wins by one as the buzzer signals the end of the game, and the end of our patience, with this ludicrous movie.

Rarely does "Flubber" approach the state of hilarity, yet it makes a quite laughable attempt at plot development. The evil loan shark, who is curiously identified with the Mercedes automobile, steals the bouncy potion from the professor just as he sells his invention to Ford Motor Company. Are we supposed to get the message that Germans are evil and sinister while good old American companies are our friends? Whatever the message, that line of plot gets old and predictable very quickly.

Robin Williams gives an absent-minded performance. He is hardly likable as a sort of gauche genius, but he does give the professor a childish quality that evokes the love of science inherent in his character.

The end features a not-so-hilarious repeat explosion at the professor's house, while his understanding girlfriend strides down the isle with the robot assistant filling in for Brainard.

Perhaps Disney and the film's producers need to understand one tough concept: Bouncing people are funny once - maybe twice - but a whole movie of aimless and ridiculously scripted characters bouncing, being bounced on and playing with bouncing stuff is just plain boring and annoying. Originality may be the name of the game for Prof. Brainard, but it seems that formula is all Disney knows.

12-01-97