Dolittle (2020 Film) Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Robert Downey Jr.'s career without Iron Man and it does not look good.

Dr. John Dolittle lives in solitude behind the high walls of his lush manor in 19th-century England. His only companionship comes from an array of exotic animals that he speaks to on a daily basis. But when young Queen Victoria becomes gravely ill, the eccentric doctor and his furry friends embark on an epic adventure to a mythical island to find the cure.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Dr. John Dolittle and is joined by an assortment of co-stars. Harry Collett plays Tommy Stubbins, and Michael Sheen plays Dr. Blair Müdfly, Dolittle's old schoolmate and rival.

Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, and more lend their voices to Dolittle's company of animals.

Stephen Gaghan directed "Dolittle" and co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Chris McKay. "Dolittle" is based on Hugh Lofting's "Doctor Dolittle" series. Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Susan Downey collectively co-produced this 2020 adaptation. Universal Pictures distributed "Dolittle."

Overall Thoughts

The question I asked myself both before and after seeing "Dolittle" was, "Why make this?" It's not like "Doctor Dolittle" is a prevalent brand with a huge fanbase, let alone one that people are fervently demanding another film adaption of. So how exactly this movie got a star-studded cast, a $175 million budget, and acclaimed behind-the-camera talent eludes me for the moment, especially after seeing the results. In spite of such considerable resources, the new "Dolittle" is only intermittently entertaining.

Reportedly, the film underwent three weeks of reshoots, with Jonathan Liebesman and Chris McKay supervising, and it shows, as the finished product is clumsily edited. The film moves from one scene to the next without a smooth transition to tie it together. It ends up hurting the momentum of the story, not that it isn't already suffering. Even for a children's film, the plot is incredibly weak. There's no mystery involved because you already know who is behind it all the moment the culprit is introduced.

Robert Downey Jr. has always struggled outside of Tony Stark/Iron Man, but you would hope that Downey would find better roles than this post his "Avengers: Endgame" farewell. I get this feeling of indifference from his acting at different points, as if he's unaffected by anything happening around him. This is particularly evident when Dolittle's supposed to have these moments of character growth, but they are ineffective because Downey isn't too invested. You can see Downey trying to make this story work at first, but he increasingly looses interest as the film continues to make one poor decision after another.

Initially, I was impressed by the amount of well-known actors this film had assembled, but after seeing the extent of their roles, in retrospect, I shouldn't have been. The actors who provide the voices to Dolittle's animal companions lack any interest or passion. Their line delivery sounds like they're there to collect paychecks and move on to their next project. I don't necessarily blame them, because they don't have the best material to work with. In fact, some the worst lines these actors have to say are, quite frankly, degrading.

Ultimately, "Dolittle" wavers between being a so bad, it's good film and a so bad, it's really bad film. There are legitimately good things in it, such as the production design and certain pieces of Downey's performance and the humor. A stronger story and clearer direction would've improved this film. Overall, it is entertaining, just in ways the filmmakers may not have intended.

Rating: ★½

Conclusion

This has been my review of "Dolittle." I hope you enjoyed it. Have you seen the film? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments below. Should you feel inclined, recommend a film for me to review next. I'm Dallin, your resident film fanatic, and I'll return soon with another review. Thank you for reading.