 |
| Silvestri |
Mouse Hunt: (Alan Silvestri) The fledgling
Dreamworks studio decided to tackle the family genre for the first time
1997, striking financial gold with its initial slapstick offering,
Mouse Hunt. The project also represented the major feature debut
for director Gore Verbinski, who would gain fame for his later helming
of the
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Two awkward and clumsy
brothers played by Nathan Lane and Lee Evans in
Mouse Hunt
inherit a failing string factory and a dilapidated old mansion that, due
to their own hardships, they have to reside in together. As it's
revealed to them that the house is the last remaining creation of a
famed architect, they decide to restore it for auction, but standing in
their way is a pesky mouse that thwarts their efforts at every turn. The
battles between humans and rodent in the film are rich with standard
slapstick laughs, and, as expected, the mouse ultimately has a fairly
good chance to win the war. All is well in the end, however, and
Mouse Hunt defied mixed to negative reviews by becoming a holiday
favorite with audiences hungry for a reprise of some
Home
Alone-styled laughs. The project originally received a heavily
Eastern European-flavored original score by Hans Zimmer associate Bruce
Fowler, but screen testing with this music and infusions of Nino Rota
was met very poorly by audiences. By the suggestion of studio icon
Steven Spielberg, veteran composer Alan Silvestri was brought in as the
fixer for the movie's music. The film represented the start of a
collaboration between Verbinski and Silvestri that famously ended with
the controversial dismissal of the latter man during the first
Pirates of the Caribbean film. Silvestri's comedy prowess in the
1980's and 1990's was well respected in the industry, and his efforts
for Verbinski's
Mouse Hunt and
The Mexican are both above
average in quality. Held in especially high esteem is the first score, a
wild orchestral romp retaining adequate European flavor while raising
all the energetic ruckus that one would expect to hear in this context
without falling into the traps of tired parody techniques.
While one would not have blamed Silvestri for solely
raising memories of Carl Stalling and the innumerous cartoon scores that
have addressed similar action, he manages to transcend that sound by
tackling
Mouse Hunt with more intelligence and unique personality
than the film likely required. As with other comedy entries in
Silvestri's career, this entry blasts wildly through a number of genres
on its periphery, especially referencing vintage jazz to define its
easy-going swagger for one of the two brothers. The sense of humor
extends to the work's devious side, which foreshadows
The Witches
for the composer many years later. But the straight symphonic portions
of the score excel because they emulate the kind of unnecessarily
complex action that resided more firmly in John Williams' domain at the
time, with a few snippets of exposition reminiscent of James Horner's
top genre entries and even Silvestri's own prior works in the fantasy
genre. There is a certain amount of formulaic procedure adhered to by
Silvestri for
Mouse Hunt, led by the pretty and redemptive
melodic conclusion for the film's happy ending. But the mouse and the
antics it causes are treated to one of the composer's most spirited and
Williams-like career themes. Heard in full in the "Main Title" and "End
Credits," this propulsive little march progressively grows into a
menacingly rambunctious identity of stout classical stature. Heard in
several cues within the score's frantic action sequences, culminating in
"Flaming Doo" and "Water Pressure," the idea's progressions defy what
you'd expect for a mouse by intentionally bloating the demeanor of the
theme up to gargantuan proportions. As usual, Silvestri's handling of
rhythmic propulsion is top-notch, chanting tempos wildly but always
keeping the narrative moving at an engaging clip. The technical mastery
layered into this theme is often its greatest asset, humorous runs by
supporting instruments entertaining with their depth and precision. The
secondary themes in
Mouse Hunt are also proficient despite being
less flashy. An old-school, jazzy identity introduced in "Chez Ernie"
for the one brother (leading a series of early cues of faux-affluent
eatery tones) and expanded with a prominent whistler in "What Are You
Doing?" flirts with its French connections in several places in the
score and offers breezy atmosphere.
More conventional in
Mouse Hunt is Silvestri's
heartwarming dramatic theme for the overarching family and, by
association, all things wholesome in the picture, this score's Marc
Shaiman equivalent, if you will. Heard first on solo violin in "Dying
Wish" and translated into a stately waltz for the architect's legacy in
"Charles Lyle Larue," this idea eventually finds its way to the heart in
"String Cheese" and the interlude passage in the "End Credits," where it
closes out the feel-good narrative by accenting itself with the opening
phrase of the mouse's theme in charming percussive counterpoint. The
opening thirty seconds of "String Cheese" is highly reminiscent of
Horner's late 1980's and early 1990's animation works. Keeping the score
interesting in between the major renditions of the themes, Silvestri
strays humorously into a few one-time sidetracks of interest. The
"Funeral Prologue" cue foreshadows the drama theme with an appropriately
morbid organ performance. Enthusiasts of Silvestri's ballsy action mode
from
Predator and
Judge Dredd will appreciate a few of the
crescendos of standard bravado from the composer, the middle portion of
"Nail Gun" reminiscent of the wondrous space theme from the prior score
and "Ernie Finds the Contract" using stomping snare-led rhythms highly
familiar to the latter. The zanier moments of the aptly named cue, "Shit
Explosion," exude the playfulness of Danny Elfman. Sappy romance for
accordion, an offshoot of the jazz theme, in "Silent Movie" is a
pleasant diversion. At the end of the day, though, the main theme of
Mouse Hunt and its underlying, octave-hopping rhythms will best
represent the score's lasting recognition as a fine comedy entry. At the
time of the film's release, Varèse Sarabande released an album
frustratingly limited to 30 minutes in length due to musicians' union
fees, but the label returned to the score in 2023 to provide a proper
65-minute presentation. The longer "Deluxe Edition" experience doesn't
expose any greater individual highlights than the prior album, but this
is one case in which the added material sustains the general quality of
that which had been heard before. The staunch enthusiasts of this score
will appreciate the expanded, 2,000-copy product's faithful arrangement,
though they may notice issues with left and right channels reversed. You
so often encounter pointless, generic music in these circumstances that
it's great to hear the composer tackle this occasion with genuinely
creative spirit.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47
(in 43 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 40,196 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert of the 1997 album includes no extra information about the score
or film. That of the 2023 album contains extensive notation about both, including
a list of performers.
*NM*
