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Of course, it rather embarrassing, but I admit to loving Mortdecai. It bombed at the Box Office this week, but that should surprise no one. Austin Powers, which it echoes in having an off-beat tone- but in little else, was not a box office hit at first. The second two were only made after a life on DVD..
Mortdecai is a candy colored tale of a daft Art lover, historian and sometimes expert called in on cases. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his wife and love. A running gag plays off people distaste with her in general.
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Ewan McGregor is, as always in this type of role, handsome to look at and an excellent comic foil as straight man.
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Complete with bad British accents by many and ludicrous location markers, it is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously. It fails, for the modern office, by not making enough crass disgusting jokes.
If anything, Mortdecai reminds me of the Dean Martin Matt Helm movies, although with a hell of a lot less objectification of women. Maybe if Matt Helm got married and tried to live a quiet live in the British Countryside under witness protection as an British Earl...?
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