‘Man vs. Bee’ review: Rowan Atkinson emerges as the one true winner

A man is charged with 14 counts of wilful neglect, dangerous driving, criminal damage and arson. The gavel is about to be banged. Maybe it would have been better for me, had he called Saul Goodman. Before you jump to a conclusion, this is not a legal drama; this is Man vs. Bee. Most of the series is set in a posh bungalow featuring a troublesome bee and a protagonist, who happens to be an innocent man, played by… Rowan Atkinson here.

Given the setup, one can predict only a handful of plot points. And writer William Davies chooses a rather straightforward screenplay structure. However, the screenwriting is such that it uses minimal setting and dialogue, relying heavily on Atkinson’s famous brand of physical comedy.

While going on a faraway vacation, Nina and Christian Kolstad-Bergenbatten (Jing Lusi and Julian Rhind-Tutt) hire a house-sitter, Trevor Bingley (Atkinson) to take care of their luxurious mansion full of precious artwork, artefacts and vintage cars. Trevor, a newbie to the job, has had a tough luck with all his previous endeavours — whether it is a trolley going out of control or a shredder that shredded his mental peace. And this time, it is a bee.

Once it is established that the show is literally about a man versus bee, the scenarios that are brought in as boogie traps for later become woefully obvious; like gizmos in the house that operate with hand gestures, a mischievous dog named Cupcake that has nut allergy, a priceless artefact that hangs from the ceiling and so on. Though much of what happens in the series is predictable, what keeps you invested is Atkinson.

Many great actors carry the burden of never being able to top their game of the past. A few of them succeed to break out of that mould. With a consistently successful work, Atkinson has been trying to prove that he is more than just Mr Bean, and Man vs. Bee is an honest-to-good attempt at that.

Sure, those who have a Mr Bean hangover might find a few similarities here — Atkinson has just a page of dialogues at most, and his facial expressions aren’t far from the older version of Bean. Unlike Bean, Trevor has a familial backstory and the show weaves in a beautiful sub-plot between Trevor and his daughter Maddy (India Fowler) that gets a heartwarming end.

Subtexts that speak of the fragility of what the riches consider precious, the cons of a foolproof technology, and man’s relationship with other beings of nature, ensure that the show stands tall on its own. It is an interesting choice by the makers to not explain the reason behind the man vs bee conflict. In fact, it is wonderful that there is an unspoken communication that happens between Trevor and the bee.

It is also lovely how the writers are never condescending on Trevor, a man who is innocent of the toys of the rich. Credits also go to the visual effects, art direction, and editing departments for a seamless viewing experience. If Man vs. Bee succeeds in anything, it is in reassuring that Rowan Atkinson will always be the king of slapstick comedy.

Man vs. Bee is streaming on Netflix