Hey, fans. Kevin here, saying sorry I haven’t been in the paper lately. I had to take a break because I needed to hit the books. Having said that, my first review of the new school year is…“Igor”!

Igor (voiced by John Cusack) is the creepy little hunchbacked guy who always pulls the switch for his master, the evil Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese). Dr. Glickenstein’s a few fries short of a happy meal. Unfortunately, Igor is one of many hunchbacked, creepy people who, thanks to King Malbert (Jay Leno), must work for an evil scientist if born with a hunch. Fortunately, Igor is smart. Using his skills, Igor gave immortality to a suicidal bunny named Scamper (Steve Buscemi) when he brought him back to life and created another character in the movie named Brain (Sean Hayes.) Igor dreams of being a scientist and winning a yearly inventor’s contest so he can show the world how smart he is.

Malbert holds this contest every year so that the evil scientists will not unleash their creations upon his kingdom of Malaria. He despises the reigning champion, Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard) who has been winning the contests by cheating for the last 17 years. Malbert hopes that Glickenstein will be able to invent something that will beat Schadenfreude this year.

Unfortunately, Glickenstein has just died in an experiment, leaving Igor as the only one in the house. When the king asks for Glickenstein, Igor lies to him and says that Glickenstein is busy creating life for the contest. Igor sees this as his chance to accomplish his dream, and with the help of Brain and Scamper creates a monster named Eva (Molly Shannon). Eva turns out to be a good monster, to Igor’s horror, and from then on he tries everything to turn her evil.

This film is not as funny as advertised in the previews, and the old “Pull the switch” line loses its touch, as it is said three times before the film runs five minutes. The animation is good enough. Igor will remind you of the Hunchback of Notre Dame character with more brain, less hair, and a less likable personality. The film has some predictability after about 15 minutes; for instance you know when Eva is created that she will eventually get caught or tricked into going with the villain.

Shannon does some nice work as Eva, the monster Igor creates, but she is just a little too stupid. The funniest line in the movie is “Sorry master, I was in the bathroom, had a bat stuck in the belfry, if you know what I mean,” and that line occurs within the first five minutes. Glickenstein also has some funny lines concerning his unseen, and most-likely dead, mother.

In short, the director of this film needs an Igor of his own.

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.

**1/2

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