Man vs Bee review: Rowan Atkinson channels an unfunny version of Mr Bean that speaks

1.5/5

Story: Trevor Bingley’s (Rowan Atkinson) first assignment at his new job, is to house-sit for a rich couple on vacay. The ask is simple – take care of their belongings and their pet dog Cupcake, while ensuring none of their priceless possessions are damaged. All’s well, until a solitary bee decides to give Trevor company. Trevor wants the bee out, but it won’t’ comply. So, he decides to go all out in battle mode to get the buzzing to stop.

Review: Nine episodes of about 100-minutes in all with a singular focus – Trevor Bingley (Atkinson) trying to get rid of a singular bee that’s taken up residency in the fancy home that he’s house-sitting while the owners are off on a holiday. It’s nine episodes of Trevor in destruction mode as he almost brings the house down in trying to get this little winged intruder out. And that’s not the most absurd bit after all.

It is never explained why Trevor is so bothered by this bee. It’s almost as if he had nothing better to do and was looking for some entertainment of sorts, in the course of which a lot of stuff in the house is ruined. Trevor is by no means a dim-wit; he’s clever enough to even put together a bomb for beginners to smoke out this critter that’s disturbing him. But why would he rip apart a Jaguar if the bee was trapped in the car? There’s no rhyme or reason for anything he does.

Atkinson has writing credits on this show. It is such a shame that he’s not only put together this boring sh*tshow, but acted in it too. Worse still, he does it by channelling a Mr Bean version who speaks. Actually, scratch that. Mr Bean was a lot funnier and, compared to Trevor Bingley, Bean’s a classic. The only time I actually mustered a laugh during the course of this show was when Trevor looked ‘frozen’ to give the impression of poor network connectivity on a video call.

Verdict: I can’t believe I am saying this about a Rowan Atkinson show, but Man vs Bee is really not worth the effort. Go ahead and skip it. Seriously, a man destroying a house full of priceless artifacts and still letting the bee that caused all the mayhem live to see another day is not funny at all.