George of the Jungle (1997)

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

29 May 2007 06:26 PM

Is it late at night? Are you hyped up on sugar? Then this movie is for you!

George (Brendan Fraser) was lost in the jungle as a small boy and was raised by apes. (Yes, this is a Tarzan spoof.) When Ursula, an adventurous heiress, comes to the jungle in the hopes of having some real experiences before settling down in marriage, she comes afoul of a ravenous lion. Before she has time to scream, George comes swooping in on his vine and rescues her, showing that lion who's boss! What Ursula doesn't realize is that George and the lion are good friends and often wrestle with each other just for the sport of it. No matter - she's sufficiently impressed with his bulging muscles and just all-around manliness. We'll completely ignore his tendency to run into trees.

George takes Ursula (Leslie Mann) back to his treehouse, where she meets Ape (voiced by John Cleese) a highly intelligent animal who was largely responsible for George's upbringing. We're not sure why Ape is so cultured while George can hardly form a sentence - we'll let that one go for now. To make a long story short, Ursula loves George's treehouse and the life he leads. It's all the adventure she could ever hope for. She's also had the chance to realize that she can't marry her fiancé (Thomas Hayden Church) - he's a pompous, self-centered idiot and she can't tie her life to his. But he won't take no for an answer, and ends up in a jungle jail for his outrageous actions, which include getting George hurt.

Ursula, overcome by guilt, takes George home with her to see the best doctor money can buy. George is impressed by New York, but it's nothing compared to his jungle home.

This movie is full of sight gags, one liners, dumb jokes, and stupid dialogue. It's hysterical! Like I say, the later at night and the more sugar you've had, the more you'll enjoy it. There are a couple of crude jokes and one scene where George comes out of the bathroom naked, and Ursula puts a pillow in front of him - nothing is really shown, but you may wish to screen that yourself to determine its appropriateness for your family. Overall, we really liked it and think you will too.

This movie was rated PG.

Related Blogs:

Tarzan

Tarzan and Jane

The Jungle Book

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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