Raja Gosnell's editing for Chris Columbus gives broad slapstick precision, though he can be too protective of the sentiment. His move into directing is less persuasive, with Scooby-Doo struggling to decide who its jokes are for.
Fi1m perspective
In Home Alone (1990), the wait before a physical joke is part of the pleasure. Raja Gosnell judges how long that wait can last before the joke needs to arrive. We laughed at the slapstick because he makes the anticipation almost as enjoyable as the impact. The cuts are precise even when the comedy is at its broadest.
His sustained collaboration with director Chris Columbus included Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). In the sequel, the action remains easy to follow and individual jokes get the preparation they need, but repeated punishments wear thin. John Hughes's screenplay keeps returning to similar material; no editor could solve that merely by cutting faster.
Garry Marshall's Pretty Woman (1990) gives us another reason to rate Gosnell's editing: he and Priscilla Nedd-Friendly leave Julia Roberts and Richard Gere enough time for their attraction to register. The romantic escapism works, although the film spends too long admiring its idea of sophistication. In Columbus's Mrs. Doubtfire, Gosnell is again most effective when the farce gathers speed around Robin Williams. But the edit keeps too many of the slower reassurances about family feeling, weakening an otherwise funny, affecting comedy.
He moved into directing with Home Alone 3 (1997), with Scooby-Doo (2002) and The Smurfs (2011) among his later credits. In Scooby-Doo, he struggles to decide who the comedy is for. The physical comedy courts children, while the knowing references invite adults to feel above the material. Gosnell and screenwriter James Gunn keep switching between the two before either approach has time to work.
The good casting in Scooby-Doo deserves its due: Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini make stretches of it worth the trouble. It is still hard to recommend. Start with Home Alone for the timing; try Pretty Woman if romantic escapism is worth a little indulgence.
Biography
Raja Raymond Gosnell (also credited as Raja R. Gosnell) is an American film editor and director. Born on 9 December 1958 in Los Angeles, California, he began his career as an assistant editor in the late 1970s before gaining solo editing credits.
He edited several films directed by Chris Columbus, including Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), as well as Pretty Woman (1990). Gosnell made his directorial debut with Home Alone 3 (1997) and went on to direct comedies and family films such as Never Been Kissed (1999), Big Momma's House (2000), Scooby-Doo (2002), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008), The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013).
