Scooby-Doo
I wish there were a simple way for “Scooby-Doo” to work as a film without just saying it works best as a cartoon. The cast of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini and especially Matthew Lillard is so note-perfect for this film that, to see Raja Gosnell’s film get bogged down in visual effects and clunky set pieces is disheartening. There’s a lot in James Gunn’s screenplay that hints that, this film could work. Maybe it’s the fact that Gosnell is not a great director, and that they went with the use of CGI-vs.-practical effects, but I can’t come around on liking this one. I’m kind of sad about that, actually.
The first scene of the movie, with the crew of Mystery Inc. in the middle of an encounter with a “ghost,” sets the tone. Right away, the characters are established, but the sequence feels like it took all the effort in the world to pull off; rather than be nimble, light and slapstick, the film seems to be trying to compete with the scope of, say, a “Mission: Impossible” movie or Marvel movie with how complex these sequences are. I don’t mind the silly humor, especially when it comes to Shaggy and Scooby, because it fits with the characters (the belch contest that turns into a fart contest is a bit much, though), but the crew reuniting after two years to solve a case at the Spooky Island theme park feels like these characters stepping into Jurassic Park for the first time. What type of movie is Warner Bros. trying to make here?
When the film came out, my main point of interest was Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, the ditsy strawberry blonde member of the team. Casting Buffy Summers as one of the OG Scooby Gang (which “Buffy’s” main characters were affectionately called) was smart, and pairing her with husband Freddie Prinze Jr.- as the suave, but clueless in his own way Fred- is a great touch, and it’s one of the reason’s one of this film’s gags- where the crew has some body-swapping issues- works so well. Cardellini was the new-to-me member of the cast, and she does a wonderful job inhabiting Velma’s smart, and sometimes sassy, persona, while also making the film’s choice to make she look a bit flirty at times feel genuine. The home run, though, was Lillard, who understands the voice, mannerisms, and persona of the more clueless member of the bunch of all inside and out, and his rapport with the CG-Scooby (which is a great choice, albeit one that looks dated now) is sensational. The cast is not the problem with this film; it never has been.
It’s been much-discussed how Gunn’s original screenplay could have gone more risque, but WB wanted the family audience, and you see some remnants of that. But being PG isn’t why “Scooby-Doo” doesn’t work; while that’s a great “what if?,” I would have been fine with a PG movie if it didn’t feel like the studio was trying to create something bigger than this film is. Gosnell is an okay filmmaker, but for the tone of “Scooby-Doo,” he just doesn’t work. As a result, the film itself doesn’t work, and that’s a shame; something this silly shouldn’t try to work this hard to be fun.
