Man Vs Baby

The latest foray into the antics of one of the Britain’s comedic national treasures, Rowan Atkinson, has landed—to the tune of some eight million views and counting in the last week, proving the man perhaps best known as Mr. Bean holds his star undimmed. But he speaks here!

At the outset, after a little orchestral prelude we’re told in no uncertain terms that this is a holiday movie: the melody for “Deck the Halls” blasts in the brass at 0:16 with the studio title card as we’re given a little exposition by Atkinson’s character, Mr. Bingley. By 0:45 the setup becomes a little clearer as Bingley enters a mansion—the battlefield for what will surely be a cartoonish, Roadrunner Vs Coyote style romp.

Notice how at 0:45, as the employer notes they’re looking for a “highly responsible individual”, the dominant chord gets extended along with the melody, heightening anticipation. This in turn only further emphasizes the punchline—the aural counterpoint of Bingley’s fart at 0:49 as he says, “right, yes”. Incidentally—and probably not accidentally—the fart lands on the supertonic, which further extends that dominant prolongation and adds to the delightful awkwardness of the absolute silence that follows, lasting an interminable four seconds.

The trailer leans further into the holiday spirit with Bingly singing “’tis the season to be jolly” synched to the soundtrack, which now features jubilant, wordless choir. As the arrangement builds, we see more and more physical comedy enter the fray, with Atkinson fending off dogs and other odd situations such as the baby on a food scale in the supermarket.

Still, it’s pretty tame, family-friendly fare—but that seems to be the concept. Pairing the familiarity and sureness of Atkinson’s antics with the timelessness of holiday music is the point, and it promises to be a sure success, if even (or because?) of its predictability. As one YouTube commenter notes: “this is what the world needs right now”.

Man Vs Baby debuts on Netflix December 11th.

— Curtis Perry