The Movies Of John Cleese

All movies starring John Cleese and reviewed on the Ace Black Blog are linked below:

Silverado (1985)

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Die Another Day (2002)

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.
The Index of Movie Stars is here.

Movie Review: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

While the first episode of the unfortunate Charlie's Angels brand revival was almost tolerable, this truly unnecessary sequel is not. Full Throttle is one tiresome stuntfest, and at 106 minutes, it's about 101 minutes too long.

There is no plot, just a couple of bullet points on a greasy napkin: the Angels need to retrieve two titanium rings that together reveal the identity of every person ever placed in the witness relocation program. Cue contrived action sequences in Mongolia, on the motocross track, at the harbour, and at a Hollywood premiere of a fake movie called Maximum Extreme that sounds awful but still promises to be much better than Full Throttle. There is a minor complication related to one of the Angels revealing herself to be a protected witness originally named Helen Zaas, this being about the beginning and end of the wit on display.

Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore are back as the Angels, already going through the motions of wiggling their well-toned derrières in between the CGI sequences. Demi Moore is the main villainess, a former Angel gone bad, mainly because she believed herself too good to require teammates, although Moore's main motivation to appear in the film must have been to display her bikini body at age 41.

A parade of supporting performers including John Cleese (wasted), Shia LaBeouf (lost), Matt LeBlanc (clueless), Luke Wilson (ignored), Crispin Glover (underused), Justin Theroux (taking his role way too seriously), and Bernie Mac (as Bosley) get limited screen time in amongst all the computer processing power busy whirling away to create impossible leaps, jumps and somersaults.

The stunts are so over the top that they are much more laughable than thrilling, director McG losing control of the distinction between inspired and insipid, and going all out to prove that more is less.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle has the pedal on the floor, but the gear is firmly stuck in reverse.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

One of the best comedies ever put to film, A Fish Called Wanda represents the apex of John Cleese's career. The comic genius co-wrote, produced and of course stars in the film, a mad caper about four crooks back-stabbing each other in search of stolen diamonds in London, and the pompous English lawyer who unwittingly gets caught up in the plot.

George (Tom Georgeson) is the British criminal plot mastermind; Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) his American lover and co-plotter; Otto (Kevin Kline) is the weapons man pretending to be Wanda's brother but he's her real lover; and Ken (Michael Palin) is the animal-loving Englishman with a brutal stutter, loyal to George but easily manipulated by all.

After pulling off the diamond theft and stashing the loot in a safe, Wanda and Otto double-cross George and get him arrested. Wanda is about to double-cross Otto and flee with the diamonds when she realizes that George has outwitted them and re-located the jewels. Much to Otto's horror, Wanda develops a plan to seduce George's lawyer Archie (Cleese) to try and learn where the diamonds are hidden, while from behind bars George sends Ken on a mission to eliminate the elderly lady whose testimony is crucial to convicting George.

It is rare enough for a movie to create one memorable comic evil character; in A Fish Called Wanda, Cleese creates a trio of distinctly memorable characters. Dubious as it is to make fun of a disability, Palin's stuttering Ken is one of the funniest characters ever to grace a movie. Some of his scenes are hilarious to the point of hysteria. Curtis is perfect as Wanda, alternating between schemer and seductress, with one unique character flaw: sudden extreme arousal at the sound of foreign languages.

Good as Palin and Curtis are, Kline is on another level of brilliance entirely. He unleashes Otto as a force of nature, an American criminal barging his way through London with a devastating combination of combat skills and colossal stupidity. While comedies rarely receive any Academy Award recognition, even the stodgy Academy got it right this time and recognized Kline with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Having done the hard work of creating these characters and putting them in the hands of the terrific cast, Cleese has the relatively easy task of bringing to life Archie as the typical English lawyer, stuck in a loveless marriage and trying to maintain his composure while being seduced by Wanda and targeted by Otto.

In addition to being a straight-out comedy feeding off outstanding characters, A Fish Called Wanda also finds the time to poke fun at Americans, the English, and the relationship between the two countries. None of it is too serious, but Wanda and Otto do represent the freedom and aggression that the United States exports, and Archie has the typical political character of England: too easily seduced by America as represented by Wanda; while finding Otto's quick propensity for violence rather distasteful.

When creating an intellectual farce, it is too easy to lose balance and sink into either absurdity or self-importance. A Fish Called Wanda cuts through the water in a display of perfect harmony between hilarity and intelligence.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

Steve Martin returns as the bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau.

A daring thief known simply as The Tornado is stealing the world's most precious artifacts, including the Pink Panther diamond. A team of top international detectives, including Clouseau, is created to track down and capture The Tornado. It's a good, simple premise and sets up a light-hearted, entertaining, and yes, quite funny misadventure.

Director Harald Zwart (from Norway, with films like Agent Cody Banks on his resume) does a good job in allowing scenes, and jokes, room to breathe and develop. The editing is restrained, and the focus remains firmly on Martin, playing Clouseau with the perfect mix of mis-placed confidence, ineptness and melancholy.

The film is refreshingly politically incorrect, trading heavily on national stereotypes as the international detectives mostly bicker and engage in one-upmanship. Clouseau's inability to restrain any of his sexist thoughts is also given room to play.

In support, John Cleese is perfect in a smallish role as Clouseau's pompous superior Chief Inspector Dreyfus, and the strong cast is rounded out by likes of Jeremy Irons, Andy Garcia, and Lily Tomlin. Emily Mortimer is the unlikely and mousy love interest. Unfortunately, Jean Reno as Clouseau's side-kick Gendarme Ponton is not given much to do this time.

The jokes come thick and fast, and most of them work, at least partially. The highlights include Clouseau's mis-adventure with the wine collection at a luxurious restaurant, and his encounter with the Pope. Special mention also goes to scenes featuring the Black Beret Special Forces, tasked with protecting Dreyfus.

The spirits of Blake Edwards, Peter Sellers and Henry Mancini are alive and well.