Unlike his former "Saturday Night Live" castmates Adam Sandler and David Spade, Rob Schneider still hasn't worn out his welcome — not completely, at least.
But if "The Animal" is an example of the most he's capable of, the day may be coming soon when Schneider's name is whispered with the same amount of dread as the names of those other two alleged comedians.
While this oddball comedy does have its share of so-dumb-they're-funny bits, there are just as many groaners or crudities that could test the patience of even the most avid Schneider fan.
He stars as the title character, a somewhat hapless police evidence file clerk named Marvin Mange, who has washed out every time he's taken the required police physical endurance test.
That's about to change, though, after Marvin is injured in a horrible car accident and, in order to save him, a mad scientist (Michael Caton) replaces several of his body parts with those from several different animal species.
Suddenly Marvin finds himself with the keen sense of smell of a bloodhound and the speed of a thoroughbred race horse, both of which give him a leg up, so to speak, in his romantic pursuit of animal lover Rianna (Colleen Haskell, from TV's "Survivor").
These new abilities clearly impress Marvin's boss (Ed Asner) as well, but his jealous co-worker (John C. McGinley) is determined to find out what's led to this drastic change.
As lowbrow as some — OK, much — of the material is, Schneider (who co-wrote the script with longtime pal Tom Brady) does have the ability to endear himself to audiences, and Marvin is a fairly lovable hero.
As for his much-ballyhooed co-star, Haskell doesn't have to do much more than look adorable, which she's very good at. Even the usually irritating McGinley isn't as awful as usual, while Asner and Guy Torry get a couple of laughs.
"The Animal" is rated PG-13 for vulgar sex gags and jokes involving bodily functions, slapstick violence, scattered profanity, simulated sex (done for laughs), brief partial male nudity and brief drugs. Running time: 84 minutes.
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