Using quirky inventions from a spy backpack, young Bernie Dingledorf, his dog, and two best friends are the only ones who can save the world by facing bullies, thwarting circus clowns, and destroying Dr. Chuckles evil laugh generator.
“This film is rated PG: Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13.” Inappropriate could include extended violence, which probably explains how this film copped the rating. It’s replete with tripping, pushing, swatting, batting, and, in one instance, apparently killing a character with some sort of unexplainable evil weapon. However, to be fair, that character is a clown, and he does manage to make his demise slightly laughable.
Unfortunately, the movie rating doesn’t mention that the appearance of hoards of “evil” clowns in a children’s movie is altogether too scary for probably anything about an “R”. Kids are famously terrified of clowns, and while I can possibly see the rationale of having the bad guys be clowns, it doesn’t seem destined to work in this film.
The acting is decent and I felt sorry for the cast doing some nice work in a film where the script lets them down with a pratfall. The three young main characters are adorable and Zachary Arthur is quite good as the reluctant secret agent of the title. Ditto for Paul Johansson as a rather goofy secret agent and Kevin Sizemore as the recently widowed dad.
In Clown World where facial expression is muddied, to say the least, and one must rely on vocal interpretation along with pure physicality, Jason Dolley as Wing Nut, Asher O’Quinn as Dr. Chuckles, and Daniel O’Reilly as Mime give creditable performances. O’Reilly is especially fun to watch as he works off only his face, hands, and body.
To top everything off, this is a film with a dog, which is dangerous, because the dog usually steals the show. Not so much in this case, because although he snags a line in the title, he has limited exposure overall, though his best moment comes late in the action!
Overall, I believe teens 13 and over are far too sophisticated to enjoy the film and those under 13 will probably be freaked out by the clowns and eerie music and sound effects. Hopefully, there will be some 6 to 12-year-olds who will be able to sit through until the end. Those really young ones, unfortunately, will have either a parent or older sibling doomed to endure this simpleminded slush to the bitter end. Just be warned: there’s a sequel due out soon!
Available on Video-On-Demand Friday, October 15th
