The Animal (2001): Dir: Luke Greenfield / Cast: Rob Schnieder, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Cloris Leachman, Ed Asner: Nauseous images of a grown man sniffing someone's butt in search of drugs. Film addresses communication urges from within with sick references to bestiality. Rob Schneider plays a cop in training who is in an accident where a rock crushes his car. The effect here look about as hideous as a roll of toilet paper bouncing off the car. A scientist patches him up using animal parts, which gives him unusual tendencies. Colleen Haskell plays an animal shelter employee impressed with his ability to allow birds to feed out of his gaping mouth. Concludes with dead bodies and a horrid plot twist. Schneider is alarmingly gross as dinner for two involves urination under the table. He also licks his crotch and seduces a goat. Haskell makes little impression despite the one key revelation she is involved in. John C. McGinley plays a rival cop investigating the murders and will get his just desserts in typical disgusting fashion. Finally there is Cloris Leachman appearing to remind us that she is far better than this. Directed by Luke Greenfield who must have thought he had an idea to present but like any potential idea it needs a followup screenplay that rises above formula as oppose to the gutter. Unfortunately it turned disgustingly savage and should be fed to lions. Score: 2 / 10

I am a fan of Rob Schneider and always find his films entertaining. Saying that I thought The Animal would be another hysterical comedy that would leave me smiling all night but it didn't really amount to that. All thought The Animal was entertaining it fell flat in many scenes and certain scenes I found just unnecessary. Schneider plays Marvin Mange an uncoordinated man who wants to follow in his fathers footsteps to become a police man however he is having some trouble doing that he can't pass the physical test and he gets no respect from his commanding officers. The story unravels and Marvin is in a car crash he awakes to have weird un human like abilities which he begins to use to his advantage. The film is just overall OK but I really didn't like the ending it was like some weird mash up that didn't make sense and wasn't really funny or had any good qualities to it. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch the film but it's an OK watch if your bored and can't find anything on Netflix.

Was it silly? Yes. Was it absurd? Yes. Just what I expected from a movie titled "The Animal" starring Rob Schneider. Rob Schneider plays a lovable loser named Marvin that fails over and over again to make the police force. After a most exaggerated accident Marvin is taken by a mad scientist and operated on. After the experiment Marvin has the abilities and characteristics of a bunch of different animals. It all makes for some funny situations. It is a bit over the top and even the plot is a bit silly, but it all works because of the type of movie it is. It is not the best break out movie for Schnieder as the lead, but it is nothing to unexpected.

Ain't it hilarious when an average schmo leading a pathetic life suddenly has something outrageously magical happen to him, turning his life upside down and causing him to learn a few valuable lessons along the way? That formula never gets old, does it? It's such a sure fire way to make a classic film! Just look at major hits like Liar Liar and Big!... This must have been Rob Schneider's line of thinking when he made semi-successful Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and followed it with The Animal. Since I've already traced the plot through sarcasm, allow me to color it in more: Schneider plays a loser cop who's suddenly involved in a tragic accident but is saved through surgery... by a loopy veterinarian who loads him up with animal parts, causing him to whinny like a horse at inappropriate times, run like a cheetah, etc. This movie is slightly more likable than other Schneider-starring flicks (such as another lame same-plot follow-up The Hot Chick), but it almost feels like they want audiences to hate it by casting a reality TV star as the romantic lead (Colleen Haskell from "Survivor") and inserting a cameo by Norm MacDonald. My favorite scene... just does not exist. Sorry - nothing memorably good except the production value. I just want to end this review by saying that slight references to other movies in a movie can be okay, but when it comes to lines being delivered the exact same way ("You can DO it!"), there's a word for that - "milking." Actually, here's another word - "cheap."