Fierce Creatures
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Robert Lindsay (II) Brand: Universal Studios DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 93 minutes Published: 2010-06-01 DVD Release Date: 2010-06-01 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Universal Studios |
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Movie Reviews of Fierce Creatures
Movie Review: Startlingly Weak Follow-Up to a Classic Comedy
Summary: 2 Stars
Fierce Creatures is a follow-up (not, strictly speaking, a sequel - the storyline is different and no previous characters appear) to the extremely successful British comedy film A Fish Called Wanda. A Fish Called Wanda is a minor classic.
This isn't.
Presumably the cast (John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee-Curtis were all in A Fish Called Wanda) had a lot of fun the first time round because they have all turned out for this attempt. It falls pretty flat, unfortunately. The story is fairly weak and cliched (repressed British man takes over running a zoo for an American corporation, has to improve profits or zoo will close, decides to get rid of all non-fierce creatures [and their handlers] to improve visitor numbers...), as are the characters. In fairness, nobody expects this to be Merchant-Ivory, but it happens not to be funny either, and that's a pretty big stumbling block. Whereas A Fish Called Wanda has aged well, this feels like a throwback to the worst of British television comedy of the 1970s. Lots of mugging and some inelegant slapstick. I'm a fan of both Cleese and Palin, but the feeling in this film is that they've just dusted off a couple of old stock routines (gurning and funny voices from Palin, lots of flapping around and generally looking gangly and harrassed from Cleese) and phoned them in.
In fairness, there are a couple of genuinely funny moments. If the film is on TV and there's nothing else to do it's the sort of thing that will kill a couple of hours fairly well. But I wouldn't spend money on it. Not beyond a one-off rental fee anyway.
The film has received mixed reviews on this website. Some people seem to quite like it. Maybe I'm just turning into a tired, embittered jade. Who knows. But I think the advice here really does have to be "try before you buy". And if you are expecting something int he A Fish Called Wanda league, I would counsel you to play down your expectations now to avoid disappointment.