Reviewed By: Flickman
Since I’ve been on a sci-fi time-travel kick lately, I figured I’d keep it going with Just Visiting. It came out in 2001, yet somehow I had never seen it before. I went in blind – no trailer, barely knew the premise and mostly hit play because the cast caught my eye. With Christina Applegate, Jean Reno, Tara Reid, Malcolm McDowell, and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras (yep, Veronica Vaughn from Billy Madison) all in the mix, I thought it was worth a shot.
The movie follows a French count named Thibault (Jean Reno), who is just about to marry a princess in England when he accidentally kills her. To undo the tragedy, a wizard attempts to send him back in time only to botch the spell and launch Thibault and his servant André into the future instead. They land not in medieval England, but in Chicago during the year 2000, and crash-land right into a museum run by Rosalind (Christina Applegate), who happens to look exactly like the princess because she’s a distant descendant. Rosalind mistakes Thibault for a distant cousin who vanished on a yacht and inherited his estate. So she takes them in while trying to figure out what’s going on, and Thibault tries to track down the wizard to get back home.
The fun really starts once the two medieval travelers begin interacting with modern life. Elevators, cars, toilets, lights, electronics – none of it makes sense to them. Watching them try to make sense of the 21st century is the heart of the comedy. If you imagine waking up in a future full of unfamiliar tech, you’ll get the idea. It actually reminded me a bit of Demolition Man and the whole “three seashells” situation.
I wasn’t completely sold on the movie as a whole. Some moments were genuinely funny, but others felt pretty cheesy or just fell flat. Jean Reno and Christian Clavier (who plays André) sometimes seemed like they were trying a little too hard to push the humor. Still, there are standout scenes, like the one involving a urinal cake, and another where they try to “free” the people inside the TV.
Overall, I enjoyed Just Visiting for what it is, but I think it had the potential to be better. With a cast like this, I expected something a bit sharper. I’m not even sure what specific change would fix it, but maybe different performances or a slightly tighter story would’ve helped. I know it’s a comedy and not meant to be taken seriously, but it felt like it was missing… something.
Even so, I don’t regret watching it. It has its funny moments and some entertaining dialogue, even if it leans into cheesy territory. Parts of it even reminded me of Night at the Museum, especially with the costumes and the museum setting. It’s definitely not the greatest movie I’ve seen, but it’s far from terrible. Some people won’t vibe with its style at all, while others might love its goofy personality. And although it’s rated PG, there is some swearing so maybe skip it for very young kids.
Overall Verdict: If you want to see how someone from the medieval times would act in the present day, then give it a shot. It's not the funniest movie, but it has it's moments.
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