College professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) is so absent-minded that he manages to miss his own wedding to colleague Sara Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden). The reason Philip forgets is his new invention - Flubber, a high-energy green substance which can bounce great distances, even enabling Philip to fly his car like an aeroplane. However, Philip and Flubber have their work cut out when they discover that Sara has been sweet-talked by Philips rival in love, Wilson. Together with Philips pet robot, Weebo, they set about winning Sara back.
Disney couldnt resist the temptation to remake 1961s popular comedy The Absent Minded Professor, so they cast Robin Williams as Professor Philip Brainard (a role vaguely related to the character originated by Fred MacMurray), and the result is a comedy that, frankly, doesnt fully deserve its modest success. Its admittedly clever to a point, and certainly the digitally "flubberized" special effects provide the kind of movie magic thats entertaining for kids and parents alike. The professor cant even remember his own wedding day (much to the chagrin of his fiancée, played by Marcia Gay Harden), and now his academic rival (Christopher McDonald) is trying to steal his latest and purely accidental invention--flying rubber, or ... Flubber. The green goo magnifies energy and can be used as an amazing source of power, but in the hands of screenwriter John Hughes it becomes just another excuse to recycle a lot of Home Alone-style slapstick humor involving a pair of bumbling would-be flubber thieves. Theres also a floating robot named Weebo and some catchy music by Danny Elfman to accompany dancing globs of flubber, but the storys too thin to add up to anything special. Lightweight fun, but, given the title, it lacks a certain bounce. Of course, that didnt stop Disneys marketing wizards from turning it into a home-video hit.