‘Mortdecai’ Trailer: Johnny Depp, Johnny Depp’s Moustache, and Something About an Art Heist

The new 'Mortdecai' trailer has all of the necessary elements to make us write it off completely: Johnny Depp doing a dumb voice, Johnny Depp with a dumb moustache, Johnny Depp wearing at least two stupid hats and well, lets be honest here, the mere presence of Johnny Depp in a 2014 movie. And yet, there's something about this movie that intrigues us and grabs our attention, despite our better judgment.

The new film from David Koepp (the man who wrote 'Jurassic Park' and directed that movie about Michael Shannon's war on bicycle messengers), 'Mortdecai' seems to be a throwback to a very specific kind of comedy. You know, the ones that your father, mother, crazy uncle or other parental figure would say they just don't make anymore. Between Depp's mugging performance, his straight-faced henchman/comedy sidekick and all of the globetrotting antics and sight gags, Koepp appears to be shooting for a film that rekindles the screwball comedies of an older Hollywood, falling somewhere in between 'Bringing Up Baby' and 'The Pink Panther.' Of course, the chances of it being even half as funny as those are slight, but we appreciate the effort.

Although Depp is playing the main character (an eccentric art collector who is tasked with retrieving a stolen painting), his supporting cast looks strong enough to help us deal with him. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor and Paul Bettany are all welcome presences in any movie and they've all proven themselves capable of pulling off droll comedy in the past. Hopefully, they'll help temper Depp's antics.

Here's the official plot synopsis for the film:

Juggling some angry Russians, the British Mi5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.

'Mortdecai' arrives in theaters on January 23, 2015.