Angus Deayton Movies
- 1995
A chase forms the basis of this Hitchcockian comedy thriller from Great Britain. Petty con-man Johnny Ryan makes a scant living playing three-card Monte on the streets of Bath. At the same time, Beatrice Baxter, a drug runner learns that she has a terminal illness and will die in six months. She decides she will go out with a bang and steals two million pounds from her dealers. While hiding out in a posh hotel, she involves herself with Johnny who is on the lam from the cops. Later the girl leaves him and takes off with Jennifer. Beatrice does this so she can set Jennifer up to replace her when the boys from the drug cartel come. But Jennifer is no fool and does a switcheroo of her own. She and Johnny leave Beatrice, whom they think is dead, and hightail it out of town with the police and the crooks in hot pursuit. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Laurence Fishburne and Ellen Barkin star in this complex tale of former C.I.A. agents who now specialize in freelance espionage. As the film opens, Nelson Crowe (Fishburne) is being interviewed for a position with the Grimes Organization, which focuses on industrial espionage. He is hired by Margaret Wells (Barkin), who then takes Crowe to her boss, Grimes (Frank Langella). Grimes and Wells visit a man named Walter Curl (Spalding Gray) to tell him that they can bribe a state judge so that Curl's company doesn't have to pay a $25 million fine for the toxic poisoning of some children. The judge himself (David Ogden Stiers) is deep in gambling debts. Meanwhile, Wells aligns herself with Crowe and tries to convince him that the two of them could do away with Grimes and take over his entire organization. The plot thickens from there, with several surprises. The first-time original screenplay was by famous crime writer Ross Thomas, and the film's elegant cinematography by Jack N. Green captures the coldness of the characters and their surroundings. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Wooldridge, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 1991
British comedian Rowan Atkinson, best known to American audiences for his character Mr. Bean, stars in this collection of comic sketches, performed before a live audience of enthusiastic fans. Highlights include "Someone Called Jones," "Pink Tights and Props," and "The Invisible Man"; Angus Deayton joins Atkinson for several bits. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Rowan Atkinson stars as the monumentally stupid and klutzy Mr. Bean in this half-hour BBC comedy special. The action is divided into four short, hilarious segments: "The Carpark," wherein Bean has all manner of trouble with his celebrated mini-vehicle; "Swimming Pool," a study in courage -- or lack of it -- at the diving board; "The Park Bench," in which Bean demonstrates the proper (?) method of making a sandwich; and "Horror Movie," a cautionary tale of false bravado. Originally shown in Britain on December 30, 1990, and in America on April 16, 1992, "The Curse of Mr. Bean" has since been included in several video compilations, among them The Exciting Escapades of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Mathilda Ziegler, (more)
Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an actor who spends his nights on-stage in London's West End as a comedic punching bag for obnoxiously self-centered comedian Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson). He gets hit in the head with hammers, he trips, and he stands by dumbly as Anderson gets all the laughs. His home life is little different. His roommate, Carmen (Geraldine James), is a nymphomaniac, so he's always surprised by naked men parading through the kitchen in the morning. A chance meeting with lovely nurse Kate Lemon (Emma Thompson) and a tryout for the lead in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber-ish musical based on The Elephant Man (called, not surprisingly, "Elephant!") jolt Dexter from his torpor. Not that it makes him much less of a loser, which is the quality the show's producers are looking for. "You're a victim," they tell him. His attempts to seduce Kate are equally jarring. She asks him if he is a big believer in having sex on the first date. "Why, no," he tells her, trying to impress her with his sensitivity. Too bad, she replies -- she doesn't believe in getting serious with someone if they're sexually incompatible. Romance and showbiz go on, with the show a hit, though Dexter's romance hits a temporary snag: his backstage romance with a co-star (Kim Thomson) gets found out. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, (more)
- 1983
The second episode of The Black Adder's first season, "Born to Be King," was a reworking of the series' unsold pilot episode. Having inadvertently placed Richard IV (Brian Blessed) on the throne of England, the scheming Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) must find some way to discredit the heir apparent Prince Harry (Robert East) and thereby become king himself. Slowing down his efforts in this episode are the preparations for the Queen's birthday party and the planned assassination of disagreeable Scottish war hero McAngus (Alex Norton). "Born to Be King" was originally telecast on June 22 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, (more)
