Because their habitat is being disturbed, a group of animals take steps to make the interlopers suffer in Furry Vengeance, a live-action comedy starring Brendan Fraser. I know how those put-upon creatures of the wild felt, for the entire film made me want revenge against the perpetrators of this cinematic crime. If I didn’t have to review Furry Vengeance, I would have stormed out after about 15 minutes of watching Fraser being humiliated in every way possible and trying valiantly to perform the slapstick required for a role better suited to someone like Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell.  

On second thought, not even Carrey or Ferrell might be able to pull this one off. The main character faces the same situation so many times, it’s almost like a bizarre and unfunny version of Groundhog Day. Dan Sanders (Fraser) heads up a housing development in a forest community called Rocky Springs, but he’s unaware of plans made by his boss (Ken Jeong) to turn the entire area into a new suburb, complete with a modern shopping mall. As the company’s representative in Rocky Springs, Dan serves as the major recipient of the animals’ ire. A wily raccoon leads the pack of creatures determined to stop this unwelcome encroachment into their forest. Squirrels, skunks, birds, and an angry bear are among the troops recruited to make sure Dan and his crew  get their message.    

Poor Dan! He faces even more problems on the home front. His wife (Brooke Shields) and teenage son (Matt Prokop) both want to move back to Chicago, so imagine their disappointment when Dan is forced into staying on the job for four years more than originally scheduled. Considering the animal torture and the attitude of his family members, Dan becomes an unhappy camper indeed. But he’s not really a bad guy, so we can’t help hoping he will wake up and listen to the animals -- who simply won’t stop bugging him.    

Yes, Furry Vengeance boasts a simple and timely plot. But it’s way too repetitive. Plus Fraser should stick to more heroic roles – like the parts he played in Inkheart and Journey to the Center of the Earth. He’s a fine actor, just out of his element with slapstick (although he showed an affinity for pratfalls in Dudley Do-Right and George of the Jungle). And I think this movie would’ve worked better with talking animals. In fact, the children in the audience at the screening I attended failed to laugh much while watching the non-speaking creatures perform their amazing tricks here. Perhaps a bit of amusing dialogue from the animals would help. But it would have to be very funny to save Furry Vengeance.     

 (Released by Summit Entertainment and rated “PG” for some rude humor, mild language and brief smoking.)

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