The British television show “Mr. Bean” has been around for quite awhile. It’s been seen by American audiences on HBO and PBS in years past.

For those of you who don’t know what PBS is, it’s that channel you used to watch “Sesame Street” on and probably haven’t seen since.

Rowan Atkinson plays the series’ title character and reprises the role in the new movie “Bean.” The film has been doing huge business across Europe and Canada for months now and is finally coming to America.

But who is Bean, exactly? The best way to describe the character is to say he is an 11-year-old trapped in the body of a grown man. He’s rude, silly and has the social skills of a child. He’s a complete pest and enjoys being a complete pest.

The show “Mr. Bean” is absolutely hysterical. Granted, it is somewhat an acquired taste. Many people just think Bean is stupid. What they don’t understand is they are watching a comic genius at work.

Atkinson has a real knack for physical comedy and the funniest facial expressions of any actor working today. (Jim Carrey who?)

Those skills are important because the character Bean almost never talks, other than a few barely understandable grunts. That is why the character translates so well. No language barrier.

The program simply shows Bean in ordinary situations and his extraordinary reactions to them. Simple set-ups like Bean does his laundry or Bean gets trapped in a parking garage deliver big laughs.

Now for the big question: Will a funny television show translate into a funny movie?

In the case of “Bean,” the answer is both yes and no.

The situations Bean gets himself into in the movie deliver big laughs. Simple things like Bean stuffs a turkey, Bean conducts open heart surgery, Bean breaks into an art gallery.

The turkey scene in particular made me laugh so hard my face hurt. While stuffing a turkey, Bean loses his watch inside it.

Trying to retrieve the lost watch, he ends up with his head stuck inside the turkey. OK, I know it sounds silly, and it is. But it’s a laugh riot at the same time.

So the scenes of Bean being Bean work very well. What doesn’t work is the movie’s hackneyed plot. It seems that in order to fill up the movie’s running time, some sort of ridiculous story involving a priceless work of art and Bean’s trip to America needed to be concocted.

Here’s a synopsis: The museum Bean works at in England sends him to Los Angeles to be their representative at another art museum in order to get rid of him. He is there as a supposed art expert who will speak about the great painting Whistler’s Mother.

Not only is the plot ignorable, but Bean is surrounded by a cast who is neither funny or interesting. They all play it too straight. The only laughs in the movie occur when Bean is on screen.

On the television show, that’s fine. Other characters are featured only to give Bean someone to annoy or to watch his exploits and shake their heads. They’re only there for a little while. Unfortunately, in the film, the other characters wear out their welcome.

But forget the plot and the other characters. They don’t really matter. The star of “Bean” is Bean. Watching him in ridiculous situations is what matters. In the movie, he’s as funny as he’s always been.

3 1/2 stars out of five.

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Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.