Review(s): DVD John Cleese - Romance With A Double Bass
Unusual romantic comedy
John Cleese is a put-upon double bass player in an orchestra which has been engaged to play at the engagement party of a Russian princess (Connie Booth). When Cleese arrives too early for the party he is turned away by a haughty footman, so he goes off to bathe in the lake. The Princess has also decided to take a dip in the lake, but while they are swimming disaster strikes and a thief steals their clothes. John Cleese is faced with the daunting task of getting himself, the princess and the double bass back to the house without anyone seeing them. How he accomplishes this is very funny, and the journey is frought with peril. This is a slight but very amusing comedy with a charming ending, based on a Chekhov short story, but it has greatly improved on the original.
Funny, naughty, and like an extended "Python" sketch.
This forty minute feature, which appears like an extended "Python" sketch, but is based on a short story by Chekov, features John Cleese, and the lovely Connie Booth [not sure if they were married to each other at the time] but as a musician and a princess. She goes off to "skinny dip" and so does he. A thief takes, no wait, you've got to see it. There's a bit of "naughty" bits; which were more naughty than could ever be shown on "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Ms. Booth looked stunning, and Cleese, merely tall, and nakie, but overall, it was funny, or at least mildly amusing, which may not be to everyone's taste (or lack of it). Worth a look.
not what I expected
I was looking forward to this being a good movie because John Cleese is a good actor. Disappointed is what I was. Maybe after watching all the Fawly Towers episodes I expected more. I never even laughed. I don't think I will watch this again. The best thing about the movie was the scenery and I don't mean bare bottoms. I still really like John Cleese, but not this movie.
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And now for something completely rare. This 1968 television special is essential for connoisseurs of British humor and, of course, Monty Python completists. A pre-Python John Cleese teams up with Michael Palin and Graham Chapman (with invaluable assistance from co-Fawlty Towers creator Connie Booth and Tim Brooke-Taylor) for sketches that serve as a master class in demonstrating insincerity, inefficiency, and all-around rude behavior "to help people become more neurotic." The tricky bit, Cleese teaches, "is to never push the unsuspecting victim too far. With skill and tact, we can keep tensions bottled up for weeks, months, eventually you may induce a nervous breakdown, or better still, actual damage to the brain cells." Cleese and company portray very irritating parents,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ian Fordyce DVD Release Date: Released the 06 February 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Hey, troops, let's put on a show! Befuddled, uptight John Cleese reluctantly commands the Song and Dance Unit South East Asia, a motley troupe of barnstorming performers who dress in drag to entertain the commie-fighting British jungle troops in 1948 Malaysia. Based on the satirical stage revue by Peter Nichols (Georgy Girl), the oddball mix of Carry On farce, military buffoonery, and backstage shenanigans makes an awkward transition to the screen. Behind the double entendres and broad gay caricatures (especially Dennis Quilley, who embraces his flamboyance with gusto as the unit's musical director and star performer) rumbles a murky political satire of the British Empire in decline. The idea is better than the execution, but even as a curiosity it has its moments. Don't... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Michael Blakemore DVD Release Date: Released the 01 April 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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In an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle, Monty Python veteran John Cleese wrote this slapstick farce for the purpose of reuniting the comedic cast of A Fish Called Wanda. Fierce Creatures is all about a media mogul (Kevin Kline) who owns a London zoo. He demands that the park raise more profit, so the new zoo director (Cleese) orders that only dangerous animals be displayed in order to maximize ticket sales. In a dual role, Kline also plays the mogul's son, who plans to run the zoo with the help of displaced employees (including Michael Palin) and zoo programmer Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis). The situation lends itself to comedic confusion and split-second timing, and for a few good laughs the film is a pretty safe bet. It's not as hilarious as A Fish Called... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Cleese - Jamie Lee Curtis - Kevin Kline Director(s): Fred Schepisi - Robert Young (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 1998 Usually ships in 24 hours
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