Disney in the recycle bin. Young couple in London are frantic after a fur-wearing sadist named Cruella DeVil dog-naps their litter of Dalmatian puppies. The Disney Co. Retooling their 1961 animated feature "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" as a live-action comedy-adventure--an effort not wasted on Glenn Close, who gets to chew up the scenery as the outrageous, black-and-white-haired Cruella. Writer John Hughes, adapting his screenplay from Dodie Smith's book, can't do much with the grown-ups, Roger and Anita, who were bland before and are still bland (especially with Jeff Daniels and Natasha Richardson in the roles). I struggled to make it through the animated "classic", which was slapstick-heavy with little adult appeal, and Hughes can't seem to improve upon it. The laughs are few, and the plot goes around in circles, culminating in a tired chase and rescue. Even so, Close pulls out all the stops; she's well in the spirit of her character and is marvelously aided by terrific make-up and costuming. She gives this soggy doggy-bone the only kick it has. *1/2 from ****
Review of 101 Dalmatians
