Bicentennial Man (1999)

By Greg
Score: 5/10
What would it be like to live for 200 years? The stories that could be told, the experiences and knowledge obtained, the possibilities of what could happen to a single individual in 200 years is endless.

In the film we meet Andrew (Robin Williams) he is a robot designed to perform household tasks. The Martin family realizes after a few days that their simple robot is displaying independent thinking and begins to do things not asked of him. Sir Richard(Sam Neil) and Little Miss Amanda (Hallie Kate Eisenberg from Pepsi commercial fame) become attached to him and assist in his new found talents. Ma'am Martin and older sister Miss Grace look at him as the maid robot he should be, even at one point Miss Grace asks Andrew to jump out the window, which he promptly does. In turn it draws attention to Andrew and his abilities to do free thinking. Andrew goes to the shore with Miss and Little Miss. Little Miss plays with some crystal animals, her favorite being a horse. She hands it to Andrew who can't grasp it, falling to the ground and shattering. Little Miss becomes distraught and tells Andrew she hates him. Andrew with "free thinking" studies horses and wood-craving and creates a wooden horse from driftwood. Little Miss forms a new love and bond with Andrew. Its this bond with Little Miss that starts that seed in Andrew's positronic brain to seek out more creative thoughts. Sir Martin also encourages Andrews new talents, which becomes finacially lucrative for Andrew. They head to NorthAm Robotics to seek out an answer for Andrews talents, only the president calls him a "Household appliance" and want him "fixed"(positronic brain erased and reloaded) so Sir Martin takes Andrew home with no change.

With some time lapses into the future, the MArtin family ages as Andrew stays the same, Andrew cuts his thumb accidently and back to NorthAm. Wanting repairs to be done, facial implants to show expression. Blah blah blah....... basically, Andrews travels the world to find other like him and he meets robot mechanic Rupert Burns (Oliver Platt) who has created a female robot, Galatea, from similar robots to Andrew. Together they create a skin for Andrew and then organs, blood, hair so Andrew can assimilate himself to be human. Andrew fall is love with Little Misses granddaughter Portia Charney (Embeth Davidtz), together they seek out Andrew's declaration to be human and is denied. As they age together Portia and Andrew want there marriage and love validated. On their deathbed, lying next to each other, what Andrew waited 200 years for comes... His admittance to humanity.

The film does display good humor and touching heart felt momnets, but its long. The script has these holes and nothing visual can fill them, even Robin Williams has been tamed for this film, part of his attempt at other outlets than straight comedy. Not althogether bad, just 30 minutes too long, the lapses in time aren't explained well and the film can be hard to foloow.

Starring: Robin Williams, Sam Neil, Embeth Davidtz and Oliver Platt
Directed By: Chris Columbus
Budget/Gross: $100,000,000 (estimated)/ $93,700,000 (Worldwide)
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
Tomatometer: 37% critics / 58% audiences liked it