Directed by Roger Kumble. Starring Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Matt Prokop, Ken Jeong, Angela Kinsey, Wallace Shawn

EVER SINCE he walked into a glass door in California Man,Brendan Fraser has shown a rare gift for slapstick. Over the subsequent two decades his huge frame, lantern jaw and lost eyes, combined with a seemingly endless capacity for shrieking, have served him well.

Sadly, even Fraser’s boundless enthusiasm can’t compete with the dullness of this eco slapstick comedy.He plays Dan Sanders, a well-meaning developer who’s been bullied by his boss (Ken Jeong, funny as usual) into overseeing a real estate venture that would level a large forest.

Dan’s loyal wife (Brooke Shields) and moping teenaged son (Matt Prokop) disapprove, but not as much as the local fauna. The woodland animals, led by a malevolent racoon, have sinister plans.

Anyone who's seen The Birds, The Happeningor Beethovenwill know not to mess with Mother Nature, and, sure enough, Fraser is inconvenienced by pecking birds, an angry bear and resourceful rodents.

Considering Fraser starred in Looney Tunes: Back in Actionand George of the Jungle, Furry Vengeanceis surprisingly slow in bringing the slapstick. Nobody takes a hit to the groin like Fraser, but the film seems more interested taking its time setting up the plot (why?) and focusing on his dull family (again, why?).

This writer's inner child was looking forward to Furry Vengeance. But after waiting too long for the slapstick, and having to sit through Brooke Shield's yawnsome day-job scenes as a teacher as well as a dreary teen love story, my inner child was getting bored and restless. Recommended to very, very young kids and Brendan Fraser completists only.