It is the hope of most humans that they are as lively as today’s hero if and when they best the century mark. Lovable simpleton fossil Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) has returned for more adventures, which begin with the trademark franchise error of mistaking title for plot. “That’s not an adventure,” you say? Oh, you don’t know this franchise. These nutty Swedes can turn the unearthing of a forty-year-old bottle of soda pop into an international crisis.
I’m getting ahead of myself. The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared is the hyper-appropriately named sequel to one of my favorite sleepers of the past five years: The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. You would never guess by title that these two films are somehow related, huh? In case you find the marquee mystifying, old man Allen enjoys leaving. I’m not quite sure he “disappears,” but he has an ingrown wanderlust not found in most his age. His modus operandi is the mild-mannered meander. In this episode, we learn of Allen’s past – he was a secret agent during the pre-cola wars and whether aged 60 or 100, his patter remains more of a guy standing in the wings when fantastical stuff happens around him, like Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev arguing over Russian soft drinks.
The Cold War, of course, was fought on many fronts and this film draws the battle lines at a Russian attempt to dominate western culture with the invention of Dr. MacGuffin. Does “MacGuffin Dew” sound better here? Allen acquired the formula for this groundbreaking red liquid while negotiating with Brezhnev in the 1970s (why there was a Swede constantly in the White House and Kremlin is beyond me), and just rediscovered in the 21st century with the aid of a Capuchin helper monkey. If this all sounds contrived, it is. Incredibly contrived. 101-Year-Old took a while to get going. It wasn’t until midway
through this picture that director Felix Hengren found the same black humor that made the original so wonderful. This edition was co-directed by Felix’s brother Måns; did that account for the slow start? Can we put it all on “idiot brother?”
In my world, it is rare that a European film have essentially the same impact as a feather smashing into a cloud, but 101-Year-Old could stage a “who hits the lightest” contest with your average Adam Sandler and come to a draw. Such is fine; we’re not here for an education and kitsch lovers like myself get a kick out of a Richard Nixon bowling scene. That said, the original in this series is a far better film; a year later is not a year wiser. But if you dig fossil sex and an odd escape, there are worse films. Many star Adam Sandler.
Last time we were here I objected to the title of the film. This time around, I’m giving in and helping out Felix, Måns, and vänner with future episodes of Allen Karlsson:
- The 102-Year-Old Man Who Wandered Around a Bunch Having Exaggerated Adventures Featuring Violent People and a Monkey … and Disappeared
- The 103-Year-Old Man Who Became a World Class Magician then Went on Tour and Disappeared
- The 104-Year-Old Man Who Took up Pen and Paper and Subsequently Wrote a Title that Was So Long It Took up the Entire Film
- The 105-Year-Old Man Who Fell Down a Well and Stayed There until He Was The 106-Year-Old Man
- The 107-Year-Old Man Who Was Mistaken for a Character in Another Film and Nobody Found Out until Die Hard 7 Was Made
- The 108-Year-Old Man We Applauded for Simply Getting Out of Bed
- The 109-Year-Old Man Who Died
The secret formula was gone as feared
Decades later, the discovery got weird
He’s here, relax
Our hero of syntax
The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared
Rated TV-14, 108 Minutes
D: Felix Herngren, Måns Herngren
W: Felix Herngren, Hans Ingemansson, Jonas Jonasson
Genre: Titular writing workshop
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: People who live for silly
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Anybody who took the Cold War seriously
