A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Bicentennial Man

Date Viewed: 12/26/99

Details:

Robin Williams

Embeth Davidtz

Oliver Platt

Sam Neill

Director: Chris Columbus

Score: +

The Review:

In part a vision quest, in part the growth and maturation of a soul, and in part a commentary on both human relations and what it is to be human -- Bicentennial Man carries elements of humor, drama, and romance.

In the not too distant future, a mobile humanoid robotic home appliance (Williams) is purchased by a benevolent homeowner (Neill) and introduced to his wife and two daughters. Almost from the start, it demonstrates some curious quirks , such as a curiosity about humor and some evidence of individual creativity. The story follows Williams as it/he weaves his way into the family, down through several generations of offspring and several iterations of robotic upgrades. On his quest he meets up with a robotic designer (Platt), who helps transform Williams.

Based on the situations and robot design from the science fiction universe of author Isaac Asimov's "positronic brain" and his infamous "Three Laws of Robotics", the android casing Williams inhabits becomes surprisingly expressive. Given the inherent learning abilities of the "positronic brain," the episodic personality development is believable. Given the inertia of the legal system, however, some of the changes wrought in the surrounding society are less s, even given two centuries. Good robot design, less satisfactory social design, but it works.

There are not too many robotic romances with a tinge of comedy -- probably for good reason! -- although, curiously, the only other one that comes to mind also has Robin Williams in it: the 1992 "turkey" Toys, albeit with Joan Cusack as the robot. I suspect Bicentennial Man will probably see and amuse a very small audience.

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