Land of the Lost

Some movies just look like they’re going to be bad. Take Land of the Lost: great cast, with funnymen Will Ferrell and Danny McBride, but silly-looking concept. Much to my surprise, virtual unknown director Brad Silberling pulls it off, complete with fake dinosaurs, Sleestaks and monkey people. The television show the movie is based on aired in the 1970s, and much has been changed for this theatrical release. Ferrell plays Dr. Rick Marshall, and instead of finding himself in the “land of the lost” with his two kids, Holly and Will, those two characters come in the form of a collegiate admirer of Rick, Holly (Anna Friel), and a redneck amusement-park operator, Will (McBride). Once in this alternate universe, the three encounter all manner of things, from primitive humans to T-rexes to the Sleestak lizard people. Their primary mission turns out to be to find the contraption that got them there in the first place so they can get out (ironic, yes?). The movie is silly. But the interaction between Ferrell and McBride makes up for almost anything that’s too stupid or ridiculous to imagine. Friel, while mostly unspectacular, creates a sort of buffer of seriousness between Ferrell, with his trademark deadpan humor, and McBride, the new hick comedian on the street. Feather River Cinemas, Paradise Cinema 7 and Tinseltown. Rated PG-13.