Land of the Lost (Dir: Brad Silberling)

Can production design alone redeem a movie? The answer is no, otherwise an expansive day-glo fantasy oddball wonderland would have saved the execrable "Batman and Robin." But excellent, knowing production design, a commitment to an absurd sci-fi premise, and some low-key comic performances can and all make for a fun summer diversion. The design of the film honors the original hacky tacky look of the Sid and Marty Kroft series of the same name, but creates a whole world from it. The film's sets are kitschy, but not ironic. The movie honors the show's original bargain basement production values but on a blockbuster scale.

The film's script also hews closely to the off-wall premise of the "Land of the Lost" series, but streamlines the whole affair. The show always had some interesting ideas at play, but the pacing was glacial and unraveling its few mysteries took far too long. Here the inter-dimensional conflict between the primitive Sleestak and their more advanced Altrusian forefathers gets wrapped up in an hour and a half. With the help of the ape-man Cha-ka (Jorma Taccone), Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferell), Will (Danny McBride, "Eastbound and Down"), and Holly (Anna Friel, "Pushing Daisies") evade Grumpy the T-Rex and try to save mankind. Pulled into a world made up of creatures and landmarks culled from across time and space, Dr. Marshall and crew uncover a conspiracy to control the universe.

Those who haven't been fans of Ferrell or McBride in the past won't be won over by this film which essentially has them riffing on the same characters they play so well--pompous ass and crass simple kind a' man, respectively. But even as the two riff the whole absurd plot keeps turning giving the movie a lighter touch than the throw everything at the screen and see what sticks "Anchorman."

"Land of the Lost" is too goofy and too committed to its unique aesthetic and storyline to have broad appeal. But there is enough visual inventiveness and oddball humor to entertain a certain type of moviegoer.