PLOT:
Frank Detorre is a slovenly zookeeper at the New England Memorial Zoo in Rhode Island. Much to the frustration of his young daughter Shane, he eats compulsively and has no regard for germs or disease. While trying to eat a hard-boiled egg it’s stolen from him by a chimpanzee. He gets it back, but not before it falls into the filth of the chimp’s habitat. When Shane is disgusted by him about to eat it he uses the “ten second rule” as a justification for the unsanitary act.
Inside Frank’s body, the story unfolds. Protagonist Osmosis “Ozzy” Jones, an agent of the FrankPD, is a hot-tempered, adventure-seeking white blood cell. He is a rebel cop, frequently disobeying what an authority tells him to do for what he thinks is right. He grew up poor on the “South Side” of Frank and is often mocked by his fellow cops due to his rebellious nature. At the beginning of the story, he has been relocated to the mouth to fight against germs entering the body via ingestion following an incident during which he induced Frank to vomit all over Shane’s teacher, which was considered a false alarm because he had been the only one to suspect an incoming pathological threat(this is said later in a conversation with another character) After several newcomer Germs, believed to be gingivitis, hijack a “squad car” in the mouth, Jones and his senior partner, who is piloting their helicopter, are pulled into the lungs by a massive yawn while in pursuit. Even after the germs evade capture and pass into “Immunity’s” jurisdiction, Jones disobeys direct orders and continues the pursuit on foot. The criminals escape and Jones accidentally triggers a major cramp in Frank’s leg.
Meanwhile, Mayor Phlegmming is preparing for re-election, campaigning with the promise of more junk food (much to the joy of the citizens in the Love Handle District). The Mayor’s reckless policies are largely responsible for Frank’s deteriorating health; but his re-election hopes are complicated by the arrival of Thrax, a deadly virus that came with the hard-boiled egg. In an attempt to cover up the severity of the situation, Phlegmming ‘tells’ Frank to take a cold-suppressant pill. The pill, nicknamed Drix (short for his brand name Drixenol), arrives in the body and covers Frank’s infected throat with a disinfectant to cover the irritation. Osmosis Jones is assigned as Drix’s partner, much to his chagrin. Eventually, they reveal Thrax’s plot to masquerade as the common cold while at the same time plotting to overheat Frank’s body, killing him from the inside. Thrax is motivated by a desire to become the nastiest new virus, attempting to kill each new victim faster than the previous. His grandiose plan for Frank is death within 48 hours, breaking all previous medical records. Thrax also has the ability to burn tissue and make other cells explode by infecting them with his virus, which he releases by touching them with his larger-than-average left pointer finger, which he is able to glow, to release his virus at will.
Osmosis and Drix confront Thrax in one of Frank’s zits, where Drix launches a grenade of medication at Thrax and his cronies, popping the skin blemish, killing nearly all of Thrax’s men, and seemingly ending the virus’s siege. To hide the truth, Phlegmming tells Drix to leave the body and fires Osmosis; both protagonists having insisted that Thrax was more than the common cold.
The heroic duo’s prediction rings true when Thrax is revealed to have survived the explosion and, after killing off his remaining henchman when they suggest that they lay low and recruit new members, decides to launch a lone assault on Frank’s hypothalamus gland (the portion of the brain that contols temperature) by disabling its self-regulative capabilities. After killing the two scientists there, he uses his virus infecting finger to destroy the protoplasmic barrier around the gland, and retrieve a DNA bead. Soon after he does so, Leah Estrogen, the mayor’s secretary and Osmosis’s love interest throughout the movie, discovers his work (the temperature having risen to 100.735 degrees) and alerts security. Thrax manages to evade them; taking Leah hostage, he escapes from the brain to the mouth. Meanwhile, the temperature continues to rise, causing chaos to break out all over the City of Frank.
Frank is taken to the hospital under the influence of Thrax’s attack. Thrax is confronted by Drix, whom he underestimates. Osmosis and Drix (whom Osmosis convinced to come back) rescue Leah and the former fights Thrax directly; eventually Thrax leaves Frank’s mouth after causing a confusion using pollen.
Osmosis is launched out after him by Drix. Thrax and Osmosis arrive on one of Shane’s false eyelashes, which she was wearing atop her natural ones. During the struggle, Thrax threatens to kill Shane, but Osmosis causes him to knock Shane’s false eyelash into a vessel of alcohol below, so that he is dissolved.
During this time, the situation becomes even more dangerous when the temperature hits 108 degrees, causing Frank to go into cardiac arrest.
Just as doctors give up attempting to revive Frank, he is revived when Osmosis returns to Frank via one of Shane’s tears with the missing hypothalamus chromosome. Osmosis is reinstated into “Immunity” with full privileges, he and Drix (whom he has decided to take as his partner) are declared heroes, and Leah tells Osmosis she loves him and gives him a big kiss, which he returns.
The end of the movie shows Frank and Shane on a hike. Frank, having survived Thrax’s attack, has begun to improve his diet and personal hygiene.
Meanwhile, Phlegmming has lost his position as mayor and now has a new job, cleaning the bowels. He accidentally ejects himself from the body via the rectum by touching a button that is important and marked “DO NOT TOUCH!”.
Interlaced with the main plot are several live action sequences that detail Frank’s troublesome relationship with Shane. Her mother died at an early age; viewers may speculate that Frank has deteriorated as a result of depression caused by emotional loss, although there is reason to suspect that his wife also led an unhealthy lifestyle which may have led to her death, as suggested during a conversation between Frank and Shane. Frank had humiliated Shane previously by vomiting on her teacher, Mrs. Boyd, during a science fair, in which he ate another student’s oyster experiment; Osmosis, patrolling the stomach at the time, saw a nasty germ that had come along with the swallowed oysters and pressed the “puke” button, spraying Mrs. Boyd with bile. The event was put on the front page of the local news, making Frank the town laughingstock. This event was responsible for Osmosis Jones’ being transferred to duty in the mouth as a punitive measure to keep him from causing any further trouble.
Osmosis Jones’ suspicions have frequently been dismissed by others, though ironically he is usually correct even when he lacks the tact or caution to take care of problems without making a mess. This is evidenced by Thrax: “They’re making this too easy. You know, in all the bodies I’ve been in, no one has ever gotten wise to me, and now for the first time an immunity cell has figured out everything, and they don’t believe him!” .
Frank attempted to mend matters, but failed. Throughout the film, Shane is ashamed of her father and attempts to reform him. Seeing him facing a terminal virus prompts an epiphany in both of them, with the result that Frank begins caring for his body, and Shane develops a sense of daughterly pride in her father.
REVIEW:
Ever see a commercial for a film or part of the actual picture and wonder what exactly they were thinking when they made it? That was my initial thought when I watched Osmosis Jones. To even further make one wonder, this was spun off into a Saturday morning cartoon, Ozzy & Drix. Saying all that, this wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it sounds.
Sure, it has its moments of cheese, but seriously, if you’re expecting this to be some sort of big time, dark drama, then you obviously need to get your head examined.
The main thing to remember here is that this is meant to be a family film. However, it was made by the Farrely Brothers, who are best known for their gross out films.
The picture is in two separate parts. The first is the live-action segments, while the other is the meant and potatoes of the picture, the animated segments.
The animation is grade A, and the characters are likable and well voiced. They are drawn, yes I said drawn, in the same manner that manner that many character from the late 90s o early 2000s were. I don’t really have much to say negatively about the animation part. Had this film been fully animated, it may have worked better, but as it is, they had to include the live action segments.
Everyone says that the live action parts kill the film and really tak away from it. After watching it, I am inclined to agree. Other than a couple scenes here and there, these live-action scenes don’t really do anything for the film, except find a few minutes that won’t be animated, so they can be cheaper. Normally, I would be praising Bill Murray for his role, but I have to scratch my head at this one. He’s playing a slovenly character that has no real redeeming qualities, other than his daughter. The mark of a truly good character is the connection with the audience. Murray doesn’t do anything but gross us out, so when he dies near the end. There is no reason to show sympathy or compassion. It’s not that he’s not worthy of it, but you just don’t feel it.
Every good film has a villain. Here we have Thrax, voiced by Laurence Fishburne. The guy is cool as the other side of the pillow. His plot to ruin Frank and set some sort of record is quite diabolical. Apparently, he’s supposed to be some sort of virus called the red death. It worked, but considering how he came in on an egg that Fran picked up off the ground, maybe it would have been better to use e coli or sal monella, or maybe some other well known virus, or at the very least have him working for one of them. Just my opinion.
Toungue-in-cheek jokes are the norm in this film. There are especially abundant in the city of Frank. Some may say it was a bit much, but not I. They really lighten the mood and add a bit of icing to the cake.
If you’re one of those people who doesn’t take care of themselves and/or has bad hygiene, then you should really watch this picture. Sure, its a family friendly cartoon, but the message is still there.
Osmosis Jones is not a film that everyone will enjoy, but is a good family film. They even toned it down to keep a PG rating, but be warned, there are some gross out parts. I mean, we are dealing with the workings of the human body here, so it is to be expected. Again, I say if this were just animated, its be an awesome flick, but as it stands, there are live action scenes that just suck the life out of the film. I still will recommend this to anyone, but only with the disclaimer that this could have been a much better film.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
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