Mayberry Man

The producers and actors meant well, but this is an excruciatingly dull movie from start to finish. It didn't hold my interest at all. I didn't care what happened to the characters. I didn't try to imagine how the movie was going to end. There's nothing exciting about the storyline. Several of the characters are especially annoying; when they show up I just want them to move on and come back stronger in a future scene. It's billed as a comedy but I saw nothing worthy of even a little chuckle. Did the filmmakers use a lot of 'untrained' actors? It's like they pulled people off the street? I'm confused...

The premise is great. The execution, not so much.

I don't understand all the 10 star ratings and if you are looking for an honest review, you should start reading somewhere around the 5 star mark. I've watched the Andy Griffith Show reruns all my life. It is a wholesome family show and has a few life lessons thrown in as well. This was disappointing.

Some of the folks portraying the Mayberry characters weren't too bad but the rest of the acting was cheesy, subpar or just bad. The story wasn't very interesting as it lacked a solid plotline and there was no real reason to invest in any of the characters. It made it seem long and drawn out and the main character was annoying to watch.

Another disappointment was there was no one to impersonate Andy, Aunt Bee or Opie. However, the character impersonations we did see were The Mount Pilot Girls, Briscoe and Charlene Darling (hillbilly dad and his flirtatious daughter), Gomer and Goober Pyle (gas station attendant and his cousin), Floyd Lawson (the barber), Earnest T. Bass (town nut and troublemaker), Otis Campbell (town drunk) and Barney Fife. As I said, some of these were decent impersonations and this is why I'm giving it the 3.5 star rating.

Had they spent more time on the script, character development and plotline, this could have been a cute movie. I think Return to Mayberry, a made for television movie that brought some of the original characters to solve the mystery of a reported lake monster and see Opie become a first time father, was a far better film.

OK. Here is the correct review of this film, omitting the extremes on both sides (hopefully), and from a typical Mayberry lover.

Yes, the storyline is cheesy while the script and much of the acting is pretty lame. That's nearly expected when the producers likely wanted to make a cheap film using non-actors. So let's give that criticism a break. What should we expect? After all, who among us wouldn't want to be in a movie about Mayberry? As for the pros, the Brett and Ashley "prof acting" characters still made for a decent and likable downhome couple. That said about the acting, I still enjoyed the film.

I will give Mayberry Man a thumbs up of 7 for the following two reasons: Barney and Floyd. These guys were perfect. How people could not see that, I don't know. Just like the show itself, when Barney and Floyd were on camera, regardless of who else was on screen with them, they stole the spotlight. Now, I am a pretty tough critic, but as the movie progresses, I found these two amiable "tribute actors' got so good they made a not so good script and imperfect film worth watching. When these two were in the squad car alone, improvising as they went, they WERE Barney and Floyd for me. And, when that happens and you can suspend belief a bit, these two amazing recreations made this trip to Mayberry all worthwhile.

Hang with It all to the end and see what I mean.

If you aren't over 50 years old, don't watch the movie. Almost everything is dated and is primarily for the older folks who grew up on " The Andy Griffith Show". The premise is almost identical to " Doc Hollywood ": Narcissistic actor has to stay in ancient America due to misdeed of some sort and actually learns to become human.

Read " Grinch Gets a Heart ". But after the first really slow 10 minutes, a true Mayberry fan gets to enjoy the character reminiscing and the plot slightly picks up with some Trivia tidbits tossed out and that actually makes this movie interesting. You can't help but get a warm feeling if you remember small town America without all the electronic gizmos. People actually sat outside and talked to each other, can you believe? Life was indeed simpler, and the Mayberry characters were interesting in a silly, aw shucks way.

The concept of this movie had potential. "The Andy Griffith Show" is a classic, with some of the most memorable characters in TV history. So the idea of making a movie around those characters and the town of Mayberry definitely has potential . But that potential is squandered here.

It's as though someone came up with an interesting idea, but no one involved in this film was capable of turning that idea into a professional film.

The script is paper-thin, most of the actors appear to be rank amateurs, and the one semi-professional, in the lead role, doesn't really have the kind of charisma it would take to single-handedly elevate this effort.

I suppose that isn't surprising, when you consider that the script was written and the movie was directed by a guy whose past credits are predominantly for Saturday morning cartoons.

Once we are in in the mock Mayberry town, and have met the people doing impressions of the classic characters such as Barney Fife and Floyd the Barber (some of which are pretty good, at least in small doses), the movie sort of runs out of gas - and ideas.

The film has its heart in the right place, and was obviously hoping to wring a profit from Mayberry nostalgia, but that just isn't enough.

In sum, if you are a diehard fan of "The Andy Griffith Show", who is easily thrilled by anything Mayberry, then this novelty film will amuse you, at least for a while, and you may be able to ignore its obvious flaws. But keep your expectations low.

I suspect that the main fans of this movie will be the town residents of Danville, Indiana, where the movie was filmed, and the friends and family members of the people doing the impressions of the Mayberry characters, who will doubtlessly be thrilled by seeing their hometown starring in a movie.

(But come to think of it, Indiana is a long way from North Carolina.)