Directed by: Charles Crichton
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline
I watched this one with my friend who’d never seen it before (he’s very sheltered when it comes to good movies), and I remembered what it was like the first time I saw it. The worst thing about really good comedies is that they can still be funny after multiple viewings, but they’ll never pack the same wallop as the first time you see them. I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something that’s pretty easy to forget when you end up watching the same things over and over again. I need to get back into this whole watching movies I haven’t seen before thing. People just need to start making more GOOD ones for me to see!
A small group of criminals and conmen (and women) rob a bank for hundreds of billions of whatever, lots of macguffin money. Anyway, two of them (Curtis and Kline) betray the leader of the gang in hopes of getting all the money to themselves, but find that he’s hidden it. The rest of the film is really them trying to get back the money for themselves without tipping the guy off that they’re betraying him. His lawyer (Cleese) also gets involved, as well as Michael Palin as a stuttering novice hitman. Good times are had by all.
There’s a lot of somewhat predictable sitcom happenings in this movie, but what makes it work is the acting. Between two ex-pythons and Kevin Kline, you really can’t hope for a better lineup for your comedy. Hell, even Jamie Lee Curtis is really funny in this movie. You really get into the characters, feeling really sorry for John Cleese, rooting for Michael Palin, hoping Kevin Kline dies a horrible death, and hoping Jamie Lee Curtis keeps taking off her clothes. It’s got everything! (Except for the naked Jamie Lee Curtis thing. You only get a naked John Cleese. Sorry, kids.)
Films in Boxes 
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