Murder Suspects And Mishaps

I have an image blog today. Enjoy!

Never Trust The Charms Of A Disreputable Wanda

Some links to see to before I get started today. Norma was busy at her blogs, writing about future works, with excerpts from an upcoming memoir and from the point of view of her late parakeet Sam. Yesterday was a Sunday, so we had a Snippet Sunday post at our joint blog. Krisztina is now living in San Antonio. Cheryl writes about damage to a tree. And Whisk has another Red Shirt Sunday post at her page.

Now then, today I have a film review for a classic comedy....

"Oh, right! To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people! I've known sheep that could outwit you. I've worn dresses with higher IQs. But you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?" ~ Wanda

"Apes don't read philosophy." ~ Otto

"Yes they do, Otto. They just don't understand it. Now let me correct you on a couple of things, OK? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not Every man for himself. And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up." ~ Wanda

"I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, and was in no way fair comment, and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you, or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future." ~ Archie

 "Hey, I've lost my stutter. It's gone. I can speak. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" ~ Ken

A Fish Called Wanda is the 1988 black comedy playing off Anglo-American differences, the backstabbing of crooks, and a proper yet naive Englishman being subjected to endless pratfalls and humiliations. It brings together two members of the Monty Python group with two American actors in a deliciously devious tale about low morals with a marvelous sense of humour. Director Charles Crichton helmed the film, after a decades long career in British film and television, including the classic The Lavender Hill Mob, and co-wrote the screenplay with John Cleese of the Pythons.

The story opens up with a meeting of thieves led by George (Tom Georgeson), an English crook who seems perpetually about to blow up. His English cohort is Ken (Michael Palin), a stuttering fellow who has a devotion to animal rights and an aquarium tank full of fish, one of which he's named after George's American girlfriend Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis). She's accompanied by Otto (Kevin Kline), who she's passing off as her brother, though they are anything but siblings. Otto thinks of himself as a bright guy, reading philosophy and commenting with regularity about why he dislikes the English. The gang carry out the theft of millions of dollars in diamonds. In the aftermath, Otto and Wanda sell out George, tipping off the police about him. Their attempt to take all the loot for themselves, however, goes awry by the fact that George has already moved it. 

George is content to remain behind bars, hiring Archie Leach (Cleese) to represent him in court. He warns Otto and Wanda that if he thought anyone might have sold him out, he might be inclined to speak to the police. And he dispatches Ken to take out the one witness who can place him in the crime. Wanda decides to get to know Archie, reasoning that he might find out where George has hidden the loot. And Otto being Otto, he gets very jealous, very antagonistic, and very stupid.

Cleese and Crichton wrote the story together, playing off the cultural difference between Americans and the English throughout the screenplay. They were already on the story long before production; Cleese was thinking about it when he co-starred in Silverado with Kline, who was one of the leads of that western, and asked Kline to take part in the idea he had in mind. Their story has a delightfully twisted sense of humour that goes darker as things go along. The characters for the most part have little in the way of ethics, and yet we can't help but like them, even if they're doing awful things. That's one of the strengths of the writing, which remains sharp and clever every single time I've seen the movie. The film received awards and nominations on both sides of the Atlantic, and is still acclaimed today as one of the truly great comedies. It's part of a genre- the heist comedy- that I find such a pleasure, and this one goes over the top. Crichton helms the film like a master, assembling a great cast and pacing the story beautifully. The film never drags, even in sequences that feature two people simply talking to each other. 

The casting is crucial to the film's success. Maria Aitkin plays Archie's harpy wife Wendy, and was nominated for a BAFTA for her performance. She's a shrew, an unpleasant person who seems more concerned with social appearance (she's the one in the marriage with the money) than with her husband's happiness or what's going on in his professional life. It's a mark of her performance that we dislike the character and yet like the actress. It's a character we wouldn't want to get on our bad side. Playing their daughter is Cynthia Cleese, John's daughter. She plays Portia (who Otto thinks is named after a car) as a completely self absorbed shallow twit. We feel great sympathy for Archie, long suffering in a family that makes us an audience feel he deserves better. Tom Georgeson is a wonderful foil as George. He spends most of the film in police custody, and comes across in nearly every word he speaks as a very angry man. By very angry, I mean that he gives you the impression of being a bomb ready to go off. It's left to the audience to wonder just what'll set him off.

The four leads are perfect in their roles. All four actors are natural scene stealers, and it's hard to pick a favourite out of them. Michael Palin of course is a veteran of the Python team, and in the years after Python has spent a good deal of his time travelling the world for the BBC (check out some of his documentaries if you haven't). It's a bit ironic that he doesn't share too much screen time with his fellow Python alumnus Cleese, but that might have been for the best; their first scene together is a marvel of patience and impatience in one person. Palin brings perfect comedic timing to his role as Ken. It's a role that would no doubt annoy advocates for stutterers, but it's uproariously funny. He is beyond annoyed with Otto, who teases him in endless ways, bets him that he won't kill an old lady, and questions him in a decidedly malicious way. Ken spends the bulk of the film trying to off the one witness who can finger George for the crime, which of course in a film like this means things go spectacularly awry in increasingly awful ways... and it makes it all the more hilarious. For an actor like Palin, who's never had a speech impediment, to play the stutterer had to be a challenge. There are two moments in the film when it goes away: when Wanda kisses him and when he manages in the end to get his revenge.

Kevin Kline won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for his take as Otto. It's a well deserved award, of course. He plays Otto as a dumb man who thinks he's smart, who reads nihilistic philosophy and doesn't seem to understand when he's wrong. He takes offense when anyone points out his mistakes, saying repeatedly, "don't call me stupid", even when he so painfully is. He speaks in Italian (even singing) because he knows it turns Wanda on, but he's also a jealous lover, letting his jealousy get in the way of the plan. He's like a child at times, petulant at not getting his way, not thinking things through. And at the same time he is dangerous- he knows his way around guns, tends to take things personally, and knows how to get information out of people the rough way. There's one brief moment when he gets past his innate stupidity and shows a spark of  cleverness- he tricks his opponent into setting a gun down for a fist fight, only to pick up the gun. It doesn't last long. His Otto is a loudmouth, railing at the world like a deranged lunatic... and yet Kline is clearly having a ball with the role. It's a great part for him.

Jamie Lee Curtis is also having a ball through the film, playing the underhanded backstabbing American thief. She's aroused by the sound of foreign languages- Otto's Italian does it for her, but so does Archie's knowledge of Russian. She's devious and seductive, not quite amoral, though. While she's perfectly willing to doublecross everyone else in the gang, she finds herself liking this stuffy English barrister she meets, despite the fact that he doesn't really have money of his own. She has terrific chemistry with Cleese, and that comes across whenever they're on screen together.

Cleese also has fun with his character, even if he's being subjected to pratfalls, humiliations, and other abuse (that for an actor can be rewarding). He starts out as a completely proper Englishman, not particularly appreciated at home, settled into a middle age life of being a lawyer. He's somewhat naive- he actually thinks his client is innocent, and has no idea that Wanda is playing him. And yet because his home life is so unwelcome for us to watch, we don't mind at all to see him get seduced out of it. He shows a remarkable calm under pressure- such as being dangled out of a window or held at gunpoint- and he thinks quickly on his feet as things go along and he finds himself deciding that the shady side of life isn't such a bad place to be.

The cast reunited years later for Fierce Creatures, which played off some of the same Anglo-American tensions but went in different directions. There were knowing nods to the first film, including some of the same supporting cast turning up. The end result doesn't measure up to A Fish Called Wanda, but how could it? It's an interesting counterpart nonetheless. As to this film? It's my favourite all time comedy, one that stays fresh every single time I watch it. It has plenty of oh dear God, did they actually do that moments, some morally challenged characters, and a delightfully twisted sense of humour that is totally irreverent. If you haven't seen it, you must remedy that post haste.

Just close your eyes when the little dogs are about on screen. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Revenge Of The Killer Rabbit

Time to do a movie review today. If you haven't seen this one, you're going to be confused.

"The Lady Of The Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king." ~ King Arthur

"Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony." ~ Dennis

"You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly k-nig-its." ~ French Soldier

"This new learning amazes me, Sir Belvedere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes." ~ King Arthur

"Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion! Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who." ~ King Of Swamp Castle

There are more conventional adaptations that have been done about the story of King Arthur and his knights of Camelot. The story has been told in classic films, animation, musicals, and soaring action epics. On the other hand, a film about Arthur that features a killer rabbit, French soldiers in England for no reason, historians getting killed, and the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.... well, that's something entirely different. Monty Python And The Holy Grail is the 1975 film from the British comedy troupe of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones, and it skewers the legend of Arthur in as thorough a way as can be done. It is one of those films that, if you have no tolerance for silliness, will drive you nuts. But on the other hand, if you love it, you can watch it countless times and still find it hilarious.

The Pythons wrote this film, a proper narrative with plenty of sight gags, after the earlier sketch comedy film And Now For Something Completely Different, compiling a series of comedy bits from the troupe's television series. This one was meant to actually tell a story while keeping true to the irreverent nature of the Pythons. It's become a classic comedy, arguably the Pythons at their very best, and features the most maddening (and strangely that makes it work so well) ending in movie history. The film was directed by two of the Pythons, Gilliam and Jones... along with a bunch of llamas, if you believe the opening credits. The Pythons play multiple roles throughout, backed up by other actors and actresses.

Arthur (Chapman) and his squire Patsy (Gilliam) are roaming around the English countryside gathering knights and arguing with castle guards about the air speed of swallows. Soon the core of the knights of Arthur are gathered together: Sir Belvedere the Wise (Jones), Sir Galahad the Pure (Palin), Sir Lancelot The Brave (Cleese), and Sir Robin The Not So Brave As Sir Lancelot (Idle). They and the rest of the knights are  tasked by the Almighty to find the Holy Grail. Their quest leads them across the land, sometimes as a group, sometimes on their own, against all manner of threats, meeting strange people along the way. From the misuse of a Trojan Rabbit to peasants with very modern political views, the knights find themselves caught up in their quest... and in a very silly movie.

I've long since lost track of how many times I've seen this movie. The writing by the Pythons is still as fresh today as it must have been when the series was on the air and when these movies were being made. There is an absurd, anarchist streak to their style, and it comes across in this movie. Instead of telling a conventional story, they turn convention upside down, breaking the Fourth Wall, mixing together the story they're telling with a wink at the audience, their signature animation style that breaks in from time to time, and the warped humour that masks just how clever the writing actually is. If you see the surviving Pythons today, that warped sense of humour is still there in each, so the whole movie is very much their personalities writ large. And it's delightfully twisted that way. 

The troupe filmed on location, and if you watch the special features, there's a short film of Palin and Jones wandering through some of the areas they filmed in. We learn that one castle was used over and over again in different ways, and seeing the two going here and there all those years later, trading stories and sharing jokes along the way, is interesting in and of itself. The troupe shot the film with the resources they had, but even so, the England of a thousand years ago looks and feels grim and dirty- indeed, when Arthur happens to be passing through a village, one of the villagers tells another that he must be a king, because he doesn't have shit on him. Peasants dig around in the mud for a living. A king keeps building castles in a swamp. And the film has that feel of being out of time, from costuming to set decoration. Even on a budget, if you look around at things while all of this mayhem unfolds between characters, it feels like you're back in the past. Jones and Gilliam direct in different ways, too. Jones goes more for the quick gag, while Gilliam is more of a storyteller- you can see hints of films yet to come for him here, since he went on to direct surreal films like The Fisher King, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and 12 Monkeys.

The Pythons are augmented by a number of other actors who appeared in various Python films. Neil Innes has multiple roles, but primarily as Sir Robin's minstrel, cheerfully singing about the knight's habit of running away from the slightest sign of danger. He had quite a lot of Python connections, and has sometimes been called the seventh Python. Connie Booth is hilarious as a woman accused by an angry mob of being a witch; she was Cleese's wife at the time. And Carol Cleveland plays Zoot and Dingo, twin sisters who live with other women at a castle Galahad comes across... all of whom are very tempting to the apparently virtuous Galahad ("let me go back in there and face the peril!" he tells the ferocious Lancelot after being dragged out).

The Pythons all have primary and secondary roles. Gilliam plays the mostly silent Patsy (though he gets a wonderfully subdued line about Camelot only being a model), but it might surprise you to know that he also played the bridgekeeper of the Bridge Of Death, a decrepit and crazy old man, barely recognizable under a whole lot of makeup. Idle plays the cowardly Sir Robin as if the character is terrified every moment- which works wonderfully. Errol Flynn would be shocked by the notion of a knight quaking in fear. Idle also gets a number of secondary roles, my favourite of that lot being a rather confused guard inside Swamp Castle, trying to clarify his orders. Jones has a primary role as Sir Belvedere the Wise, not nearly as wise as he claims to be, as much of his knowledge is simply preposterous. Perhaps his biggest laughs, however, are reserved when he's playing the secondary character Prince Herbert, being forced by his father to marry a princess when he'd rather just sing.

Chapman plays the cornerstone role of Arthur, and in this context, it's challenging. He must convey the gravity and seriousness of a king- which he does- at the same time as keeping a straight face while the king goes through simply ludicrous situations. We believe he's Arthur- he certainly looks the part, and carries himself like a king as he makes his way through his lands. It's in those more human moments that the role takes on a really marvelous quality- such as when he gets completely exasperated by the peasant Dennis to the point where he loses his temper. Cleese plays Lancelot in a way we might not expect. Where Lancelot has often been portrayed as the dashing hero who seduces the king's wife, Cleese goes for his own take on the role. Here he is the take no prisoners, ferocious warrior who charges right into a situation with his sword ready, not bothering to ask questions first. Among his secondary roles is the demented Tim the Enchanter, appearing late in the film, warning the knights of what lies ahead, and they must conclude Tim is a very strange person. Michael Palin has always been my favourite of the Pythons; he seems like such a nice person in real life, and yet you get the sense that underneath all that is a marvelously devious sense of humour. His primary role is Galahad the Pure, and he plays the character as brave and noble, loyal to the king and the quest... and when he finds himself in the midst of all those beautiful women who only want him for his body... his nobility is tested to the limit. We couldn't blame him for giving into temptation, could we? He also gets a number of hilarious secondary roles, including the peasant Dennis, arguing with the King about the responsibility of executive power, and as the King Of Swamp Castle, irritated by the existence of his son Prince Herbert, the confused guards, and the strange knight of Camelot who comes barging into his castle, wounding or killing half the wedding guests.

Monty Python And The Holy Grail represents the Pythons at their best and most demented. It's an absurd retelling of the Arthurian story that skewers the genre of swords and sorcery, infuses a twisted sense of humour into everything, and ends in a way that's just as demented. Have you seen it? And if so, what's your favourite moment in the film?