The considerable charms of the 1961 film The Absent Minded Professor have been extracted with surgical precision in this remake, which miscasts Robin Williams in the title role. The original film was funny because the characters were unaware that they were funny; Flubber tries so hard to act funny that it isn't. It's like that one kid in school that tries too hard to make people laugh and ends up undermined his own goals. Among the odious additions to this remake are a hovering robot companion for the professor and the ability for flubber (the energy-generating rubber substance the professor accidentally invents) to take on humanoid shapes and sing and dance. Avoid this condescending shipwreck at all costs.