Land of the Lost (PG-13)

Will Ferrell leads the cast in this unnecessary adaptation that does nothing but injustice to the campy 70′s TV series.

For the few who haven’t heard of it, The Land of the Lost was an intriguing and inventive Saturday morning TV series created by Sid and Marty Kroft back in 1974.

The Marshall family; father Rick, son Will, and daughter Holly are out on a camping trip when the raft ride they take plunges down a waterfall and into a crevasse following an earthquake (Oh dear heavens no!). In this unknown world they encounter prehistoric animals, the remains of a very old city carved out of stone,a race of humanoid lizards, and mysterious pylons located throughout the jungle. Wonderful stop motion animation was used in this show, a special FX rarely seen on television shows. There was also some terrific matte work depicting this lost land. It was, simply, a kids’ show that aspired to bring spectacle, nifty effects, and quality writing to each episode.

This year, a new comedy came out with the same title. At the head of the cast was none other than the crude Will Ferrell. Basically, it’s the same premise, with a few minor tweaks. Will Ferrell is a washed up scientist named Rick Marshal who has been trying to prove that a parallel universe exists. When he meets an attractive scientist who happens to be a huge fan, he is inspired to pull an all-nighter and build the parallel universe machine he dreams of creating. The two go out to a deserted circus tent to try out the machine that they hope will shoot them into the parallel universe. Danny McBride(The Foot Fist Way, Hot Rod) plays the tour guide of the circus, and is forced to tag along when an unexpected earthquake opens a chasm that swallows the trio and spits them out in an unknown time. In this time, dinosaurs and lizard-people roam the earth.

The fact that this movie has the same title as the campy 70′s show, as I soon found out, is the only thing the two have in common. While the television series was charming and funny, the film adaptation is grosser, weirder, dirtier, and more unnecessary than the series. Will Ferrell is slightly to blame for its womanizing efforts at comedy, but mostly it’s Danny McBride’s edgy and questionable comments that make half the audience go, “Whoa, careful man!”

In fact, at some points in this movie, it seemed almost impossible to me that this was PG-13. Its source material has the potential to make a great movie, but as soon as you cast men like Danny McBride and Will Ferrell to lead the cast, it’s bound to be smutty, crude and, much like the film’s narrative, out of control. The way the plot progresses makes me think that the screenwriters only goal was to either make a lot of girls wince and squirm, or make twelve year old boys laugh their heads off. Either way, neither makes for a good movie. The development and story come off as nothing but shallow and hollow segues to another gross sight gag.

In the end, Land of The Lost doesn’t even permit me to say that it “has its moments”. The only moments that the movie does have are awkward and in bad taste. The only “Land of The Lost” that exists here is inside the minds of the creators of this downright crummy adaptation.

5 Dinosaurs out of 10

Review by Jason Holland

Land of the Lost is Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference.