Die Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

I saw the 1994 live action "Flintstones" movie on video for the second time in 2000, about 4 ½ years after I first saw it, and thought it was great during my second viewing. That was shortly after this prequel, featuring a different cast, came to the silver screen, and I remember hearing about this film around that time. Since I was not nearly as impressed during my last couple viewings of 1994's "The Flintstones" (both many years after my second), I was in no hurry to see "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas", especially since I knew it had an even worse reputation than its predecessor. It's been over 2 ½ years since I last saw the first live action "Flintstones" effort, and I've finally seen this second one, which is unsurprisingly not good.

The Great Gazoo is an alien who is sent to Earth by his species to learn about human mating rituals. Back on Earth, in the prehistoric town of Bedrock, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are two best friends who are both in search of girlfriends. They are the first ones Gazoo sees after he lands on the planet, so he decides to follow them around, even though he annoys them. Meanwhile, a rich young woman named Wilma Slaghoople is fed up with the snobbish people around her, especially her mother, and runs away. She goes to a restaurant and meets a waitress named Betty O'Shale, and they quickly become friends. Fred and Barney go to this restaurant and meet the two women. Fred gets a date with Betty and Barney gets one with Wilma. When the four of them go out together, Fred and Barney end up swapping girlfriends, but both of them are successful with their romance. Both couples are invited by Chip Rockefeller, Wilma's rich and arrogant ex-boyfriend, to his resort in Rock Vegas, but what they don't realize is that this is just a cruel scheme for Chip to win Wilma back!

The main problem with the 1994 film is that it simply isn't funny, and that's most certainly a major issue with this prequel as well. The only part of this film I couldn't keep a straight face while watching was the "I'm ignoring you" part. There's one memorably lame moment with a farting dinosaur, and most of the other gags are just mediocre. I was also not impressed with many of the performances here. Mark Addy may not be bad as Fred, and I guess Stephen Baldwin isn't that bad as Barney, though I definitely preferred Rick Moranis' portrayal of the character in the first film. These performances certainly aren't great, however, and I certainly didn't care for Kristen Johnston and Jane Krakowski as Wilma and Betty respectively. Also, Alan Cumming plays two characters, which are Gazoo and Mick Jagged (obviously based on real-life Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger), and both his performances fail, especially the former, I would say. At the beginning, showing Gazoo with other members of his species on a spaceship before he is sent to Earth, it already looks like this is going to be a very unfunny comedy movie, and unfortunately, that beginning sequence doesn't lie.

The first live action film adaptation of "The Flintstones" was a critical failure but a box office success, whereas "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" was both a critical AND box office flop. After watching it, that doesn't surprise me. I can't really think of anything wrong with the 1994 release other than the absence of laughs, but I would say that REALLY brings it down if quality, since it is supposed to be a comedy. Just like its predecessor, this prequel failed to make me laugh even one time, but this second film of the two also has inferior cast performances, and maybe a slightly more boring plot as well (I'm not 100% sure about that, as it's been a while since I last watched the first film), which makes it even worse. I only found it a BIT worse than the 1994 film, and don't absolutely hate it like many others clearly do, but some could find it a LOT worse, including some of those who like the first film. If you don't like 1994's "The Flintstones", you probably wouldn't like this prequel. If you do like that movie, there's probably STILL a good chance you wouldn't like "Viva Rock Vegas".

I was surprised by this movie.

I hated the original, I suppose because none of the cast of the original (except Elizabeth Perkins) resembled the Cartoon cast.

I'll probably get stoned alive for saying this, but I didn't like John Goodman's Fred Flintstone. I think he played him awkwardly as though, he didn't really want to be in the movie.

But Mark Addy was a lot lot better. OK, he didn't have the voice down to a tee, but he resembles Fred, when made up, a whole lot more than Mr. Goodman.

I just wish they would have asked Elizabeth Perkins to re-create her role as Wilma. She did a great job in the original, and resembled and sounded like the cartoon character, where Kristen Johnston, didn't quite do it for me in the role. She looked far too mature to be playing Wilma, and didn't have the voice either.

But full marks to Stephen Baldwin and Jane Krakowski as Barney and Betty. They were also a lot better than Rick Moranis and Rosie O'Donnell from the original film. Mostly because, again, they sounded like the cartoon characters and Krakowski resembled Betty. (Baldwin in no way looked like Barney though - oh, well, can't be perfect, but he makes up for it with the voice and laugh).

Joan Collins is also hilarious in the film, as the Filthy Rich Mother of Wilma, and again, does a better job that Elizabeth Taylor from the original.

Also watch out for Alan Cumming. He almost steals the film with his "Mike Jagged" from the Stones, while also playing an alien in a dual role.

With great creatures (Jim Henson workshop), good gadgets and an all-round enjoyable film, I give this an 8 out of 10.

"The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" is actually slightly more bearable than the truly horrible 1994 movie, but that really isn't saying much. Where the previous one suffered from chronically bad casting for the Flintstones and the Rubbles (except for Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma), this benefits from Stephen Baldwin and Jane "Best reason to watch 'Ally McBeal' not called Lucy Liu" Krakowski making a far less annoying Barney and Betty than Rick Moranis and Rosie O'Donnell (the latter the only major cast member to return here, in voice mode only). The movie also has a few nice little touches like pictures of the cartoon Fred and Barney handed out to people, and the specially modified Universal logo with the Earth only showing one continent behind the word "Univershell" ("Did anyone else see those giant letters out there?").

Alan Cumming as the Great Gazoo (and a Mick Jagger-type rock star) is also one of the movie's pros... and indicative of its cons. Writers Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont ("Can't Hardly Wait," "Josie and the Pussycats") and the late Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr ("Top Gun," "Anaconda") go for too many cheap gags, have a wilful disregard for the show's mythology - Gazoo didn't arrive until Fred and Barney were both married with children, for starters (and as another poster rightly says, he crashlanded as opposed to being sent) - and don't really have much of a plot going for them. The movie's all as silly as that episode where the boys befriended "Ann-Margrock" without knowing who she was.

Speaking of which, Ann-Margret (who guested on the TV show) returns to Bedrock to sing "Viva Rock Vegas" in a montage and over the credits, but her take isn't a patch on the BC-52's version of the theme song in the first one, and indeed the overall feeling of going down a level is everywhere - not just in the plot of Wilma's mum wanting her daughter (a miscast Kristen Johnston) to marry an uppercrust type (Thomas Gibson from "Dharma & Greg"), but from the cast to the visual effects (Rhythm & Hues aren't quite up to Industrial Light & Magic's level) to the music (song-wise, that is; David Newman at least tries), the movie fits in all too well alongside the other losers directed by Brian Levant, he of "Problem Child" and "Jingle All The Way" infamy. And I still think James Belushi, not John Goodman or Mark Addy, IS Fred Flintstone.

At least the first one had Halle Berry and some puns in the credits (though this does have Jane Krakowski - hubba hubba). And no Joan Collins...

This is garbage. I kinda of like it. Everything is bad. The plot starts 2/3 of the way into the movie. The writing is horrendous. The acting is god awful. Visually the movie is incredibly ugly. It has some of the worst sound design I have ever heard. Honestly, the best part of this movie (other than Dementia Dad) is the god damn CGI. Also, I still have no idea how old they're supposed to be in this thing, they look 40, they act 40, but they're just graduating college?

"The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" is one of the poorest excuses for a family film I've seen in a long time.

The original remake with John Goodman was at least decent, but this flop has not only an awful cast, but awful dialogue, filming techniques, jokes...it's straight out of a made-for-TV sequel. Only one thing: It's even worse.

In this live-action prequel to the 1994 comedy hit, Fred Flintstone (Mark Addy) and wife Wilma (Kristen Johnston) go to Rock Vegas along with the Rubbles, Barney (Stephen Baldwin) and Betty (Jane Krakowski), where Wilma is pursued by playboy Chip Rockefeller (Thomas Gibson). This is the setup for a bunch of tiring gags that also have to do with a little green space alien coming to earth to see how humans mate, or something as such.

This has to be one of the worst comedies I've seen it a while. It was actually painful for me to watch. There really are no redeeming values whatsoever, and I don't think I'd like it even if I was a five-year-old. It treats the audience like dirt, and it obviously seeing if there's any juice left in the audience to pay for another "Flintstone" flick.

Instead of trying to improve upon the first film--which was a bit underrated--this film seems to go for the bare minimum in an effort only to draw money from the audience. I have to ask myself, if they knew the first was so critically-declaimed, why release another awful flick? Try to improve and get good reviews.

But nope, no luck here. Instead we are treated to a truly awful and hard-to-watch comedy with no redeeming values whatsoever.

Avoid at all costs.

0.5/5 stars--

John Ulmer