Flubber Information

Flubber is a 1997 comedy film and a remake of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), directed by Les Mayfield (who had previously directed another John Hughes scripted remake, Miracle on 34th Street). The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Ted Levine, Jodi Benson and Clancy Brown. Although the film was poorly reviewed, it did well at the box office, making more than double its budget.

Plot

Professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) of Medfield College is developing a new energy source, in an attempt to raise enough money to save the college from closure. His preoccupancy with his research distracts him from his fiancée and the college president Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden); he has missed two weddings in the past as a result of this, much to the anger of Sara. On the day of the third attempted wedding, Philip is approached by his former partner Wilson Croft (Christopher McDonald), who has profited from ideas he has stolen from Brainard and now desires to steal Sara from Philip and make her his wife, which he declares directly to Philip. Before he can make it to the wedding, his latest experiment shows fast development, forcing him to miss another wedding. The resulting substance created from the experiment is a green slime that proves to be difficult to control and wreaks havoc on the neighborhood before Brainard finally manages to capture him. Weebo (voiced by Jodi Benson), Philip's robot assistant, classifies the substance as "flying rubber", leading Philip to christen him as "Flubber".

Philip discovers that as he bounces, Flubber increases in speed rather than decreasing. After he relays this information to Weebo, she informs him that he has missed the third wedding. Philip goes to Sara's office and unsuccessfully attempts to explain the situation to her. Meanwhile, Medfield College sponsor Chester Hoenicker (Raymond J. Barry) is unhappy that Philip failed his son Bennett (Wil Wheaton) in chemistry class. That night, Chester sends his two security guards Smith (Clancy Brown) and Wesson (Ted Levine) to Philip's house in an attempt to persuade Philip into giving Bennett a better grade. However, Philip is too busy testing the Flubber to even notice them and suddenly knocks them out unconscious with a Flubber-coated golf ball and bowling ball. He uses Flubber to give his car the ability of flight. During a test run, he discovers Wilson making the moves on Sara. Afterwards, Weebo attempts to confess her love of Philip, only to be shrugged off as a computer. In response, she secretly creates a holographic human version of herself named Sylvia (Leslie Stefanson) in hopes of winning him over. Before Weebo can make out with Philip in this form as he sleeps, Philip awakens with another idea for Flubber. He enters an empty basketball court and tests the effects of Flubber on a basketball. Later, he gives Flubber-padded shoes to the unskilled Medfield basketball team to increase their abilities.

Back in Philip's home, a spiteful Weebo unleashes Flubber from his case, allowing him to dance around the house and cause general mayhem. After the close but successful basketball game, Philip's attempt to win Sara back into his favor fails. Philip dumps all of his emotional baggage onto Weebo, saying his absent-mindedness is due to his love of Sara. Weebo records Philip's ramblings and shows the footage to Sara, who then reconciles with Philip. Philip demonstrates Flubber's abilities to Sara and they discuss how it can be used for profit. However, Chester discovers Flubber's existence and sends Smith and Wesson to infiltrate Philip's house and steal Flubber. Weebo attempts to fend off the henchmen, only to be struck down with a baseball bat. Philip and Sara return home and find Flubber gone and Weebo destroyed. Later, Philip discovers that Weebo had downloaded back-up data of herself onto his computer in the event of her destruction, as well as a video recording of Weebo's hologram professing her love for him.

Philip and Sara confront Chester and try to retrieve Flubber, only to discover that Wilson is allied with Chester. After a battle, Philip and Sara defeat Wilson, Chester and his henchmen, get Flubber back, raise enough money to save the college and finally have a successful marriage, along with Flubber and the "daughter" of Weebo, called Weebette. The film ends with the family heading to Hawaii in Philip's car.

Cast

• Robin Williams as Professor Philip Brainard
• Marcia Gay Harden as Doctor Sara Jean Reynolds
• Christopher McDonald as Wilson Croft
• Ted Levine as Wesson
• Jodi Benson as the voice of Weebo
• Clancy Brown as Smith
• Scott Martin Gershin provided the voice of Flubber
• Raymond J. Barry as Chester Hoenicker
• Wil Wheaton as Bennett Hoenicker
• Edie McClurg as Martha George
• Leslie Stefanson as Sylvia (Weebo's hologram)
• Julie Morrison as the voice of Weebette

Production

Filming began October 8, 1996 in San Francisco.

Gag homages

Many gags are embellishments from the 1961 film, with John Hughes (Home Alone) rewriting the original Bill Walsh screenplay (based on Samuel W. Taylor's short story, A Situation of Gravity). Even though Walsh died in 1975, he received posthumous credit for this script.

Reception

Box office

Flubber performed well at the box office. It made $92,977,226 in the United States and a total of $85 million in other countries for a total of $178 million internationally.

Critical response

Despite its success, the film received largely negative reviews. The film holds a 23% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews. Metacritic gives the film a score of 37.

The film was submitted for an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects, but did not get nominated.