Ben Miller Movies

An episode of the successful twenty-five year PBS anthology series Mystery!, Malice Aforethought tells the chilling story of Edmund Bickleigh (Ronnie Masterson), a physician who copes with irritations from his dominating wife by bedding numerous women from the town. This consummate philanderer decides to nudge his vileness one step further by simply eliminating his better half, with the help of a chest full of illicit, deadly drugs that will knock the poor woman out forever. Malice Aforethought co-stars Phyllis Ryan, Fiona O'Shaugnessy, and Barbara Flynn. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

An unhinged parody of James Bond theatrics, Johnny English finds Mr. Bean himself suiting up as the eponymous super spy for a series of wild and silly adventures. A lowly pencil pusher working for the MI7 agency, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is suddenly promoted to super spy after Agent One is assassinated and every other agent is blown up at his funeral. When billionaire entrepreneur Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) sponsors the exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the valuable gems disappear on the opening night, and on the watch of English, the newly designated agent must jump into action to uncover the thief and procure the missing valuables. Tracking the thieves' underground escape route with sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), English locks in on Sauvage despite repeated assurances by boss Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith) that the respected entrepreneur has nothing to do with the crime. Could the mysterious Lorna (Natalie Imbruglia), who has an odd habit of turning up at the wrong place at the wrong time, hold the key to helping Johnny? A massive hit overseas, Johnny English held its own at the box office in early April 2003, and was slated for wide release in the U.S. If the spoofing in Johnny English strikes especially close to home, that may be because the film was scripted by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who teamed to pen such Bond adventures as Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

British television comic Steve Coogan made his first bid for a big-screen career in this comedy, in which he plays Simon Garden, a singularly inept parole officer who has not had terribly good luck with his clients -- after many years on the job, only three of the former prisoners he's been looking after have avoided returning to a life of crime. Garden is transferred from his post in Blackpool to a new assignment in Manchester, and it isn't long before he finds himself in hot water. Garden happened to be on hand when Burton (Stephen Dellane), a crooked cop, murdered a drug dealer with whom he had been involved in a cocaine deal. Realizing he's in trouble, Burton rearranges the evidence so that Garden looks like the killer. A surveillance camera captured Burton's crime on tape, and now Garden must get his hands on the tape in order to clear his name. However, Burton has cleverly stashed the tape in a top security bank vault to keep it away from Garden, so the parole officer must stage a break-in to collect the evidence -- and he chooses as his accomplices George (Om Puri), Jeff (Steven Waddington), and Colin (Ben Miller), the three parolees who've stayed out of trouble until now. The Parole Officer also features Emma Williams as a former associate of Burton's who ends up helping out Garden, and cameos from Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A boy who dreams of becoming a British soccer star discovers his dreams might not be as far-fetched as they seem in this comedy-drama. Jimmy Grimble (Lewis McKenzie) is a 15-year-old misfit living in Manchester, where nothing seems to go his way. Jimmy is constantly threatened by the school bully, "Gorgeous" Gordon (Bobby Power); he's also not sure what to make of Johnny (Ben Miller), a lost-in-the-ozone biker who is dating Donna (Gina McKee), Jimmy's mom; and he has a crush on one of his classmates, Sara (Samia Ghadie), who seems to like him, but his powers of speech invariably fail him when he tries to talk with her. Like most Mancunians, Jimmy loves football, but instead of rooting for world champions Manchester United, he's a fervent supporter of the Manchester City team. Jimmy also loves to play football, but while Eric (Robert Carlyle), the coach of his school's team, thinks he has potential, "Gorgeous" is already a skilled player, and when Gordon's father informs the school he'll make a large and much-needed donation if their team makes it to the Manchester Schools Cup games, it looks like Jimmy will be riding the bench for a while. But when an old woman gives Jimmy a pair of shoes that once belonged to one of Manchester City's greatest players, his skills on the field begin to change. There's Only One Jimmy Grimble also features Ray Winstone, Jane Lapotaire, and John Henshaw. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide