Robin Williams' Isaac Asimov Movie Has An Unfortunately Low Rotten Tomatoes Score

Chris Columbus' 1999 film "Bicentennial Man" was an odd duck. It was a big-budget genre film in the blockbuster mold, employing extensive makeup and special effects to turn Robin Williams into a long-lived android. At the same time, though, it was presented as a feel-good, tear-jerking prestige picture. Its December release implied that it was meant to be a serious Oscar contender, a cross-genre supra-film designed to earn millions and win awards. 

"Bicentennial Man," however, did neither. On a budget of $100 million, it only earned $80 million back. It wasn't widely beloved by critics, either, and currently sports a mere 37% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 98 reviews). The main criticism was that "Bicentennial Man" was mawkish and sentimental, turning an android's otherwise profound journey toward humanity into a bland, chewy glob of contrived Hollywood sweetness. The prolonged years of an increasingly emotional android should have been intellectually provocative, but Columbus aimed for the heart instead of the head. 

This was especially frustrating, given that "Bicentennial Man" was based on the eponymous 1976 novelette by Isaac Asimov and its 1992 novelized expansion "The Positronic Man" by Asimov and Robert Silverberg. Those books are pointedly philosophical, discussing the inner consciousness of an artificial life form and the way a robot can evolve over time. Asimov was no sentimentalist, and Colubus' film most certainly didn't capture the spirit of his work. It certainly didn't help that Robin Williams was cast as the android protagonist. He's far too expressive and funny to portray an expressionless machine. One might admire Columbus for trying to turn an Asimov book into a blockbuster/Oscar-bait combo, but it's hard to admire the actual results. 

"Bicentennial Man" begins in the near future of 2005, where a rich family — the Martins — have just purchased a brand-new robot butler. The family is overseen by a patriarch whom the android calls Sir (Sam Neill), and the android becomes fond of his youngest daughter, whom he calls Little Miss. Little Miss is played by Hallie Eisenberg as a child and Embeth Davidtz as an adult. Because this film will take place on a two-century timeline, Davitz also plays Little Miss' adult granddaughter, Portia. As Andrew serves the Martin family, he observes them and begins to emulate their human behavior. He begins to exhibit signs of sympathy and develops an interest in humor. 

As time passes, Andrew begins to realize that he wants to look more human. He visits robotics experts, asking that he be allowed to become more expressive. He's given a rubberized face at first. By the year 2048, Andrew is informed that he is a conscious being and no longer the property of the Martin family. By 2088, technology has advanced enough to give him realistic skin and hair. By then, he looks exactly like Robin Williams. In a fun conceit, Andrew wanted to appear to be in his 80s, but was talked into looking younger by a thoughtful engineer played by Oliver Platt. 

The film ends in the year 2205, after Andrew has married and been given a mortality chip that allows him to age to death. He will marry a human woman and have his rights recognized by the world governments. 

Yes, all that is as treacly as it sounds. Every family death is lingered over like in a Hallmark movie. 

The tragedy of Andrew's life is that he is so long-lived, he is destined to watch his family and all his friends die. He longs for the privilege of mortality. That kind of thinking is short-sighted, however. If you can truly live for millennia (as Andrew potentially could, given the advancements in robotics), then his life will merely become a cycle of families, new starts, discoveries, and excitement. Mortality would just become a long-term cycle for him. For those who shun ideas of immortality, think on a longer timeline. 

Critics, as mentioned, intensely disliked "Bicentennial Man." Roger Ebert gave the film two stars, writing that the film "could have been an intelligent, challenging science fiction movie, but it's too timid, too eager to please. It wants us to like Andrew, but it is difficult at a human deathbed to identify with the aluminum mourner." Ben Falk of the BBC was even harsher, giving the film one star and saying that it didn't even succeed on a sentimental level. "The fundamental problem," he wrote, "is that [the film] utterly fails to set out its objectives and adhere to them. Is it a comedy? No, because it's not funny. Or is it about everyone's need for love, as Andrew gradually begins to fall for Portia? Or is it about artificial intelligence versus natural intelligence and humanity's fear of the unknown?" If a film has no thesis, it's going to be dissatisfying on some level. 

"Bicentennial Man" was at least nominated for an Academy Award for its makeup (which is, to be fair, quite astonishing). It lost, however, to Mike Leigh's operetta biopic "Topsy-Turvy." If one is looking for something to watch this weekend, they'd be better off with "Topsy-Turvy." That film is magnificent.