Bean

Bean (1997) is the big-screen debut of Mr. Bean — watch it online on iFILM. Directed by Mel Smith, the film sends Rowan Atkinson's beloved disaster of a man from a London gallery to Los Angeles for a high-profile museum unveiling.

The board at the Royal National Gallery has been trying to sack Bean for years. He sleeps on duty without apology. The chairman keeps blocking them, so they hatch a plan: ship him off to California as their "ambassador" for the opening of Whistler's Arrangement in Grey and Black — and let America deal with him. Curator David Langley (Peter MacNicol) is fooled into believing Bean is a distinguished art scholar. He is very much not. Burt Reynolds plays a military patron who bankrolled the whole exhibition, and his mounting horror mirrors the audience's delight.

The 1997 film preserves the wordless, slapstick rhythm of the original ITV series across a full ninety minutes. Atkinson relies on a raised eyebrow or a sideways glance where other comedians would reach for a punchline. Stream Bean (1997) online on iFILM.