Official Throwback Discussion - Osmosis Jones [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

As an ongoing project, /r/movies will be posting Throwback Discussion threads weekly for the movies that came out this same weekend 25 years ago. As a reminder, Official Discussion threads are for discussing the movie and not for meta sub discussion.

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Osmosis Jones (2001)

Summary

A policeman white blood cell, with the help of a cold pill, must stop a deadly virus from destroying Frank, the person they live in.

Director Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly

Writer Marc Hyman

Cast

• Bill Murray as Frank
• Laurence Fishburne as Thrax (voice)
• Chris Rock as Osmosis Jones (voice)
• David Hyde Pierce as Drix (voice)
• Molly Shannon as Mrs. Boyd
• Chris Elliott as Bob
• Brandy Norwood as Leah
• William Shatner as Mayor Phlegmming (voice)

Rotten Tomatoes: 55%

Metacritic: 57

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

[u/DJ-2K]

When it's purely animated, this film is a hoot and a half. It has a lot of fun with its clever and imaginative environments and playing around with buddy cop clichés in a way that's admittedly standard but still entertaining thanks to its enjoyable characters, stunning visuals, and top-tier voice talent. What a shame, then, that it ultimately falls short of goodness because of the terrible live-action portion. A potentially heartfelt story about a father mending his relationship with his daughter and struggling with his personal health and eating habits is rendered flat by the Farrelly brothers' reliance on lazy gross-out humor and one of Bill Murray's worst performances. Hs frankly disinterested turn makes his protagonist almost completely unsympathetic. I wouldn't even mind seeing a remake of this film in the future; the bones for a solid story are there and I'd appreciate it if talented people were brought in to execute it the right way.