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Fierce Creatures Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kelvin Kline and Michael Palin Directors: Robert Young & Fred Schepisi BBFC Certificate: PG Opened: 14th February 1997 |
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Writing a sequel to a successful film must be a nightmare. Not only do you have to create a film that is as good as that which has gone before, you have to do it with the same set of characters. It would have been easy for John Cleese to knock out a follow-up to A Fish Called Wanda which would have succeeded on the reputation of its prequel, no matter how good or bad it was. Thankfully, he has taken more time and created a completely new film for Wanda's four main stars : Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Jamie Lee Curtis and himself.
I must say, however, that I was filled with scepticism before seeing this new offering. Not only had it been dogged by (notoriously unpromising) re-shoots, but the trailers for it were absolutely dire. I was, therefore, surprised and relieved to find that this is a highly enjoyable film. The story is set around Marwood Zoo, a typically English establishment that is taken over by American tycoon Rod McCain (Kline, in one of two roles). Fearing for his job, newly appointed zoo manager Rollo Lee (Cleese) employs a new policy under which the zoo will only keep threatening and dangerous animals (the titular 'Fierce Creatures'). However, when the idea is unpopular with the many zoo-keepers (including Ronnie Corbett and Robert Lindsay), Vince McCain (Kline, again, in a funnier role) and Willa Weston (Curtis) are despatched to sort the problem. Whilst Fierce Creatures is not a sequel, it must be said that this is still a very similar film. Cleese's character is Wanda's Archie Leach in all but name, and the relationship between Cleese, Curtis and Kline is very familiar (Curtis wants Cleese, Kline wants Curtis, Cleese and Kline encounter cultural differences, etc). However, the film has managed to feel comfortably familiar without being stale. The only time I found myself harking back to Wanda was during the scenes with the underused and (here) frankly unfunny Palin. Once again he plays a similar role to his Wanda character (quirky, speech impediment) but he has to work hard with the surprisingly poor hand that scriptwriters Cleese and Iain Johnstone have dealt him. You cannot help thinking how he was the highlight of Wanda when here he is just a damp squib. Claims that this is an 'equal not a sequel' to Wanda are unfounded and will only serve to disappoint fans of that film. Whilst that was a comedy classic, this is just a plain funny film. It does take a while to find its feet, but does have some extremely amusing moments. The scenes in which one keeper tries to persuade Cleese that his cute lemurs and meerkats are in fact blood-thirsty savages is a hoot, and the staples of British comedy (farce and innuendo) are wheeled out to often hilarious effect. It is a credit to director number two Fred Schepisi (who was brought in for the re-shoots when original helmer Robert Young was no longer available) that the ending feels as if it is actually the original one (unlike the horrendous anti-climax tagged onto the end of the already awful Sliver). In fact, it is in his section where the comedy really works. If there is one criticism that can be aimed at Fierce Creatures, it is that the jokes do not always find their mark. With farce, you can always see the joke coming well before it happens, and so the audience laughs both when they realise what is about to happen as well as when it actually does. However, in many of the scenes in this film, the pay-off never works quite as well as you would expect from the set up. The blame for this can only really lie with Robert Young. The script has enough funny scenes, but they are sadly underused in the first half of the film, and only in the later scenes is the full comic value of each scene used. Schepisi did re-shoot a few of the earlier sections to add to their effect, and it is possible that he is to thank for saving the film. It must be said that when this works, it really works. With Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, John Cleese pushed back the boundaries of comedy, changing it forever. With A Fish Called Wanda, he served up a consistently funny, remarkably fresh and original slice of comedy entertainment. With Fierce Creatures, he seems content to provide a tried and tested style of humour. However, he has done so very well, and even if this is no Wanda or Fawlty Towers, it is a damn sight more enjoyable than most of the turgid 'comedy' churned out by Hollywood on a depressingly regular basis. Don't expect too much, and you'll have a great time. Reviewed by: Tom Whitaker
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