terrible... so disappointed.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Blistering performances.

For all of the Tom Green fans, I doubt the comeback they wanted from him would be him headlining a film like Bob the Butler, but with actors like him, Pauly Shore, and Hulk Hogan, all of their films achieving some sort of cult status, I suppose you take what you can get. This is very basic children's romantic entertainment starring Tom Green as the title character, who decides to because a butler because he has successfully tried and failed at all of the "A" jobs in the phone book and has moved on to the B's. After burger assistant fails him, he goes to butler school, where he will learn to be a diligent, capable servant through meticulous training and craft.He becomes acquainted with a wealthy but broken family of three, run by Anne (Brooke Shields) and her two children Tess (Genevieve Buechner) and Bates (Benjamin B. Smith) who can be devils or angels depending on their current mood. Because Anne is either working a lot, her kids see more of faceless babysitters than they do of their mother, which likely brews this sort of aggression in them. When Anne hires Bob to watch her kids (she still has a "Bob the babysitter" file) urgently, she finds that he immediately connects with the kids because he isn't dictative but very easy-going and relax. Okay, he himself is a man-child, but one who can hold his ground most of the time, especially in the company of Tess and Bates.The story calls for a charismatic relationship between the title character and the supporting characters in the film, and that is precisely what we get. Bob's relationship with the family grows closer and closer, as he often crosses the lines of being a faceless butler to, gasp, a member of the family. Now let's just hope his crush on the beautiful Anne doesn't materialize into more than just recognizing she is indeed attractive.Moreover, it's at least nice to see Tom Green tone it down several notches to make a character we can at least watch for longer than the length of a viral Youtube clip. His character here may not be the most human soul, but he's at least tolerable and able to evoke some decent moments, particularly when he's watching the children and trying to interact with them on a level they understand. I'd rather watch this - as corny as it could be - then watch Green play the piano obnoxiously with strings tied around his finger holding sausages suspended in the air on the opposite end. Green's chemistry with Brooke Shields is rather tame and expected for a PG movie. They share maybe an innocent kiss and that's about it.Bob the Butler is one of those films I wish would've gone for more of a heavy PG-13 rating, or even an R, than the cop out rating of PG. The film may be innocuous enough for children, but that doesn't mean it will keep them interested. In a shortage of Tom Green performances, which, yes, upset me to a degree, seeing him play in a redundant albeit slightly-passable kiddie flick is like drinking a lukewarm cup of coffee on a day I awoke expected a fresh one.Starring: Tom Green, Brooke Shields, Genevieve Buechner, and Benjamin B. Smith. Directed by: Gary Sinyor.

It appears Tom Green has gotten over trying to be Alan Funt's vulgar imitation and is actually not trying to actively repulse his audiences for once.This movie is plotted rather bland and predictable for the most part. The camera-work is acceptable, the audio soundtrack is okay, the audio editing is only slightly above sub par (sharp audio cuts in musical tracks rather than volume fades plus failure to score out scene music to proper lengths to fit the mood and failure to gauge spoken audio levels in many scenes to emphasize emotional shifts).As for the plot, a man who gets fired regularly from jobs gets butler training, takes over for a neurotic woman's babysitter as a butler, predictable boring bratty kid events occur, non-prudish butler guy eventually adapts and bonds with kids, neurotic woman views butler as potential father figure, butler quits job for professional reasons, woman chases after butler, butler marries woman becomes father to kids. It was nice to see that Tom Green can not make a repulsive jackass of himself for once although the movie is boring as all heck.

Bob (Tom Green) just got fired from another job. Although he works hard and shows up on time, something always goes wrong. Back in his small apartment with his pet hamster, Rascal, Bob looks through the phone book for career inspiration. There he spies an ad for "butler school". According to the description, one can complete the training in five days. Without hesitation, Bob signs up. But, the school is run by a semi-weirdo, Mr. Butler (Simon Callow) who puts the students through drills, like standing on rooftops to learn balance and posture. When Mr. Butler strips down to his skivvies to teach the art of "how to dress one's master", everyone runs away, except Bob. Meanwhile, workaholic Anne (Brooke Shields) is about to go out on a date with her French beau. But, her two children, Tess and Bates, behave so badly that the gray-haired babysitter bolts from the house. Rifling through cards, Anne finds one for "Bob the Babysitter". Of course, its the same Bob, who tried that some time ago. Nevertheless, he agrees to come right over when she calls and, curiously, the kids like his low-key approach. Making it through the first night, Bob becomes the permanent sitter/butler. But, the two young ones are still vying for their mother's attentions in bad ways. Tess is devious and rebellious and Bates follows her lead while still hoping his mother will notice his interest in basketball. Bob does his best, even when high-strung Anne rants and raves. Is it possible that Anne may realize Bob would make a better boyfriend than the Frog? This is certainly one of the more unusual family films-romantic comedies ever made. With the offbeat Green as the star, it was probably to be expected. Yet, he does a nice job in a role that has its moments and Shields high-energy turn is a good foil for his more understated delivery. As for Callow, he is great but, how did the producers ever persuade the distinguished Brit, of A Room with a View and Four Weddings and a Funeral, to take this role? What a score! The productions values, camera work, costumes, and sets are all very nice. Still, its hard to overwhelming recommend the film for families, due to a few objectionable scenes. The strip by Mr. Butler is one such while others where Bob catches Anne in the shower and Tess shoplifts and backtalks will not please some viewers. This is unfortunate, for there really are some nicely comedic scenes. Therefore, if you are one of those families who can watch films as a group and discuss tricky situations, this one will entertain most everyone. Fans of romcoms, Green, or very offbeat flicks will enjoy it, also.

Saturday night, time to catch a DVD. We were pretty much settled on "Walk The Line" until we saw this. It had Tom Green, it looked like a "comedy" so we went this way. I obviously knew "Walk The Line" was slightly more acclaimed, but I was in the mood for something light and easy."Bob the Butler" is all about Bob (Green), a terrible employee who's tried a stack of jobs with little success. He comes across an ad for a butler course and decides to give it a go. While doing the course he receives a request to babysit (one of his old jobs) and gives it a go. He does well so the mum decides to hire him as the butler. From here we can work out what's going to happen and the plot plays out exactly as you'd expect.Terrible movie, even for the genre. An all over the place, poorly laid out script with Green way out of his comfort zone. It was sad watching him play this role. The kids were OK but that was about it. Don't waste your time.