rofessor Phillip Brainard (Williams) is so absent-minded that he's forgotten to get married to his fiancee, Sara (Harden), twice. Sara is the president of the financially troubled university where Phillip teaches, and she's made it clear that if he forgets to show up the third time, they are through.
Unfortunately for Phillip, there are some forces at work against him, and his own absent-mindedness is just one of the problems. Another is his flying electronic companion and appointment book, Weebo (voice by Jodi Benson), which has a crush on him and conveniently forgets to remind him about the wedding. And waiting in the wings to steal Sara is Wilson Croft (Christopher McDonald), who has also made a habit of stealing Phillip's inventions. Finally, just as Phillip is about to head off to his wedding, his lab explodes, inadvertently creating something amazing: flying rubber, or "flubber."
Phillip discovers that flubber has unique properties that allow it to increase energy, and that may help him get Sara back, save the university and even help the university's not-so-talented basketball team. Once he figures out how to harness the power, the basketball team is leaping through hoops and Phillip has flubber-powered his car so it will fly. But hot on his trail are two goons named Smith and Wesson (Clancy Brown and Ted Levine), sent by a greedy millionaire who has discovered Phillip's secret and who wants the flubber. So now it's up to Phillip and Sara to save the flubber, and the university. And, just maybe, get married.
Strictly kid stuff
Flubber, written by John Hughes and Bill Walsh and directed by Les Mayfield, is a very disappointing effort. A remake of the 1961 movie The Absent-Minded Professor, starring Fred MacMurray, this Flubber is lifeless, predictable and boring.
That's surprising considering the presence of the one actor who could be considered human flubber, Robin Williams. However, the one-note script never gives Williams, or the other actors, anywhere to go. Full of plot holes, stereotyped characters and few surprises, the script is plagued with a lack of imagination. There is little inspiration here, except for the nifty flubber special effects. But even the things that should be enchanting and fun, such as Phillip's flying car, seem like old and tired plot devices.
And on a deeper level, the movie just isn't much fun.
While adults will likely snooze during the film, younger children may be entertained by the dancing and bouncing flubber and the slapstick action, which offers much of Flubber's humor. Kids will also like Weebo, Phillip's flying and talking robot, which plays movie and cartoon clips on a pop-up screen when it wants to make a point. As far as parental concerns go, it's all pretty tame, and there's nothing more violent than the slapstick of the average Saturday cartoon.
