First Vin Diesel is Jet Skiing \XXX""-style, chasing bad guys and rousing the audience into full-out suspense, and then suddenly he finds himself falling in love with school principals and singing a lullaby called ""The Panda Song"" at bedtime with a smile on his face.
Frankly, a movie called ""The Pacifier"" with Vin Diesel doing everything from changing diapers and teaching teenage girls how to drive, to fending off evil ninjas with a broomstick, just sounds like one big romp down Bad Attempt Lane.
However, if you find yourself wondering how in the heck ""Fast and the Furious"" star Vin Diesel got into comedy, you might just miss out on one of the most laughable family-oriented movies of the year.
Vin Diesel plays Shane Wolfe, a Navy SEAL assigned to babysit five kids of an assassinated government scientist while their mother (Faith Ford) has to leave home in order to sort out matters pertaining to a top secret project that was ultimately responsible for her husband's death.
While five children may have been an unnecessarily large number of children needed to make the story work, it created no hindrance whatsoever, mostly due to the excellent performance of Brittany Snow. The ""American Dreams"" TV-star puts a believable twist on the role of the ditzy high school diva and eldest daughter, Zoe. She somehow manages to add dimension to a character written with little emotional depth, making her intensely more likable than Hilary Duff's similar role in the 2003 comedy ""Cheaper by the Dozen.""
Morgan York as the sassy little sister Lulu also brings a pleasant air to ""The Pacifier."" She does this mostly with her know-it-all attitude and comical critiques of Vin Diesel's massive pecs. At one point she even asks him, ""Why are your boobs so big?""
Cute moments and characters abound in 'The Pacifier. These fun characters include haughty Vice Principal Murney, played by ""Everybody Loves Raymond""'s always hilarious Brad Garrett. As Murney, Garrett calls Diesel's character ""Popeye"" and even a ""lady"" during one particularly family-fun scene in which Garrett and Diesel duke it out during a wrestling match in front of the kids' entire school.
The fact that this movie's dialogue makes fun of the brawn of its own leading actor only makes it easier to laugh at and creates a very original comedic feel for ""The Pacifier.""
The movie eventually plays out with a very Disney-esque finale with almost no loose ends and that pleasantly satisfied feeling in the stomach region as the credits begin to roll.
Sappy endings can almost always be scorned for one reason or another, but for ""The Pacifier,"" a Walt Disney film starring Vin Diesel, a little bit of sentimentality was expected and the film cannot be effectively torn apart as a result.
It is a family film, complete with extravagant music, teenaged scruples, and a sweet, sweet resolve. This movie, while flawed in its attempt to make Vin Diesel a comedic star, really works with exactly what it was designed to do: delight the whole family in a non-threating fashion.
