--- title: "Mr. Bean's Holiday: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/mr-beans-holiday/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/mr-beans-holiday" critics_score: 44 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007): what the critics said Critics' score 44 from 14 reviews: 1 positive, 5 mixed, 8 negative. Most critics find Mr. Bean’s Holiday short on laughs, with familiar routines stretched too thin for a feature. The praise centres on Rowan Atkinson’s physical comedy: even several disappointed reviews recognise his expressive clowning and the occasional successful visual gag. Supporting performances attract some approval, but the recurring complaint is that the film offers mild amusement where it needs stronger jokes. Repetition and an overly safe approach account for much of the negative response. The spread is wide, particularly over whether a warmer Bean remains worth watching. Variety finds unexpected warmth and values Atkinson’s rapport with Max Baldry, despite an uneven second half. The AV Club sees that softening as a loss of the character’s compelling strangeness. Screen Daily welcomes his return and stresses Atkinson’s continuing appeal, though the accessible excerpt is limited. At the other extreme, Digital Spy finds the prolonged face-pulling evidence of exhausted comic invention. ## Screen Daily — Allan Hunter Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 March 2007. Hunter presents Bean’s return as a welcome one, noting the public’s continuing affection for the character. The excerpt singles out Rowan Atkinson’s enduring comic appeal, though the full review is behind a paywall. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/mr-beans-holiday/4031640.article) ## Variety — Derek Elley Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 2007. Elley finds the film chucklesome and unexpectedly warm, though it rarely delivers big laughs and becomes uneven in its second half. He singles out the touching musical wrap-up and the rapport between Atkinson and Max Baldry as its strongest elements. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2007/film/reviews/mr-bean-s-holiday-1200509488/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 2007. The URL identifies this as a review of the specified film, but the blocked page reveals no critical verdict. It provides no accessible details about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/arts/28iht-0829beanreview.7284500.html) ## Time Out — Trevor Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2007. The visible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict on this film. It provides no discernible praise or complaint about the film itself. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mr-beans-holiday) ## The AV Club — Amelie Gillette Rating C+. 24 August 2007. Gillette finds the film cute but rarely funny, and says Bean has become warmer and less compellingly strange. She praises flashes of the old character, while noting that some of the funniest scenes have little to do with him. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/mr-beans-holiday-1798202969) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Ray Bennett Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 26 March 2007. Bennett finds the film amusing but disappointing, with plenty of chuckles and few outright laughs. He praises Atkinson’s clowning and the colorful, energetic production, but faults the film for playing it safe. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mr-beans-holiday-158520/) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 2/5. 30 March 2007. The review is strongly negative, describing the film as tedious and repetitive. It praises Willem Dafoe’s performance and a few moments of physical comedy, while faulting the character’s limited appeal over feature length. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/mr-beans-holiday-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The review finds the humour extremely basic and suggests the film may leave some viewers stony-faced. It notes Atkinson’s expressive physical comedy but rejects comparisons with Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/bean-there-got-the-tshirt-7393996.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Crust Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 August 2007. Crust finds the film’s comedy stretched thin, with too few laughs to sustain its feature-length story. He praises Atkinson’s physical performance, while noting that Emma de Caunes is delightful despite having little to do. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-24-et-bean24-story.html) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 April 2007. French finds the film slight and short on laughs. He singles out Bean racing cyclists on an old bike as its best joke, while noting it comes from Tati's Jour de Fête. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/01/family.comedy) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Rating 1/4. 20 August 2007. The critic dismisses the film as a safe, unfunny retread of Mr. Bean’s familiar antics. He singles out the scene where Stepan repeatedly slaps Bean as the one moment that creates warmth. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mr-beans-holiday/) ## Empire — Nick de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 23 March 2007. The review finds the film almost entirely unfunny and padded compared with the television series. It singles out the sparse gag rate and lazy dialogue as key weaknesses. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mr-bean-holiday-review/) ## Eye for Film — Chris Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2007. The critic finds the film an accomplished continuation of Mr Bean’s silent-comedy tradition, though only just substantial enough for a mainstream cinema experience. They single out Bean’s visual, language-free antics and especially his inventive busking scene for praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/mr-beans-holiday-film-review-by-chris) ## Digital Spy — Ben Rawson-Jones Fi1m's normalised score 5/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 2007. The critic condemns the film as an excruciating failure of comedy. They single out its prolonged face-pulling and other gags as evidence of a lack of inspiration. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44486/mr-beans-holiday/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/mr-beans-holiday.md