Mel Smith Movies
Johnny Was screenwriter and executive producer Brendan Foley makes his feature directorial debut with this psychological thriller that asks what a burned-out sports journalist, an eccentric vagrant, and a Charles Dickens novel could have to do with a series of unsolvable murders. Mike Sullivan (Vinne Jones) is s sports writer who longs to become a serious newsman. Strangely, and for reasons beyond Sullivan's comprehension, his superiors at the newspaper and a Police Inspector named Willis (P.H. Moriarty) seem to be blocking his efforts at every turn. And when Sullivan begins investigating a recent murder case, their efforts to steer him back to the sports pages only intensify. Later, seemingly by happenstance, Sullivan comes into possession of an original manuscript for Dickens' The Riddle. As Sullivan begins to draw parallels between the age-old story and a collection of corpses whose official causes of death are flimsy at best, the true intentions of his secretive superiors gradually begin coming into focus for the budding investigative journalist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
It's the weight of tradition versus youthful vigor when loudmouth Torquay lawn bowling superstar Cliff Starkey (Paul Kaye) catches wind of an upcoming championship match between England and heated rivals Australia. He's determined to make the national team in a bid to bring his sport-of-choice into the new millennium. Quickly acquiring a flashy American agent (Vince Vaughn) and becoming the most popular player in England, Cliff vows to dethrone traditionalist champion Ray Speight (James Cromwell), who has made no secret his hatred of Cliff's brash showmanship. When Cliff starts seeing Ray's daughter, the competition really begins to heat up. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kaye, James Cromwell, (more)
In this broad comedy from sometime comic actor Mel Smith (The Tall Guy), two women find themselves fleeing criminals. Minnie Driver stars as Shannon, a London nurse who finds her boyfriend Ray (Darren Boyd), a "sound sculptor," becoming increasingly dull and inattentive. When he forgets her birthday, she decides to hit the town with best pal Frances (Mary McCormack), an American actress wasting her time in a terrible small-theater production. Returning to Shannon's apartment, the girls overhear a cell phone conversation on Ray's scanner chronicling the ten million dollars stolen from a safe-deposit box. When police are uninterested in their information, the girls get an idea to blackmail the robbers to get a share. The criminals, led by the hard-as-nails Mason (Kevin McNally), counteract with their own scheme, and the caper begins to go wildly out of control. Similarly plotted to the 2001 release Beautiful Creatures, but much lighter in tone than that dark suspense thriller, the film co-stars Michael Gambon, Danny Dyer, and Mark Williams.
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, (more)
Comic actor Rowan Atkinson brought his bumbling character Mr. Bean from television to the big screen with this British comedy. Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is a well-meaning but not especially bright fellow with a gift for making the worst of any situation. Bean is about to be fired from his job as a guard at the Royal Nation Art Gallery for sleeping on the job, but the Chairman (John Mills) intervenes at the last moment. To insure that his incompetence will manifest itself so completely that there will be no choice but to get rid of him, Bean's superiors come up with a plan -- they'll send him to America to speak at a posh private gallery owned by George Grierson (Harris Yulin), where General Newton (Burt Reynolds) will display the most recent addition to his art collection, "Whistler's Mother." It's even money whether or not the museum will still be standing before Bean is done; as if this weren't enough, while in L.A. Bean is mistaken for a surgeon and forced to operate on an injured police officer. Richard Curtis, one of the film's producers, said after viewing the final product, "It's an unpleasant family movie. I'm very pleased." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, (more)
The classic Shakespearean comedy about mistaken identity and gender confusion is brought to the screen once again in this British production, courtesy of screenwriter-director Trevor Nunn. Nunn has transferred the time period to the Victorian Era of the late 19th century. Two twins, Viola (Imogen Stubbs) and Sebastian (Steven MacKintosh), are separated when their ship capsizes. Each believes that the other has drowned. Viola washes ashore on the coast of Illyria. She disguises herself as a man and assumes the name Cesario so that she can take a position as an aide to the Duke, Orsinio (Toby Stephens). Orsinio desires Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter), who refuses his attentions. He also flirts with Maria (Imelda Staunton), Olivia's maid. Orsinio sends Cesario as an emissary to Olivia. The foppish Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E. Grant) also seeks Olivia's love. He is a friend of her besotted uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Mel Smith). With the clownish philosopher Feste (Ben Kingsley), all these members of Olivia's household plot to embarrass the dour Malvolio (Nigel Hawthorne), a butler who has no tolerance for frivolity. They fool Malvolio into thinking that Olivia desires him, and when he confesses his love, Olivia orders him imprisoned as a madman. Sebastian then turns up and is mistaken for Cesario. A series of mishaps follows. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Imogen Stubbs, (more)
A blend of screwball farce and whodunit murder mystery, this madcap period piece was the brainchild of executive producer George Lucas. In 1939, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the harried general secretary and de facto manager of a new fourth radio network, WBN. On the night that the Chicago station goes live on the air, a mysterious voice interrupts, and a series of murders soon follows, each one described by the same sonorous phantom. While Penny and her staff desperately try to keep WBN's roster of shows afloat during the unfolding crisis, her estranged husband Roger (Brian Benben), a staff writer, becomes the chief suspect. Roger is forced to dodge a detective, Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), find the real killer, win Penny back, and perform last-minute script rewrites for an unhappy sponsor. As the backstage hysteria reaches a fever pitch, the show goes on with real-life radio-era pros such as George Burns and Rosemary Clooney. Although never explicitly pointed out in the film, Radioland Murders (1994) was a pseudo-prequel to an earlier Lucas feature -- Roger and Penny are the future parents of Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) from American Graffiti (1973). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
- 1992
- PG
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Brain Donors is a game attempt to redo the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera in a contemporary setting. John Turturro plays the "Groucho" character, a shifty lawyer (he's even given a Grouchoesque three-barrelled moniker). Bob Nelson is the "Harpo" counterpart, a puckish handyman. And Mel Smith completes the trio as a Chico-like cabbie. All three conspire to save a failing ballet company on behalf of dowager Nancy Marchand, who does a film-length impersonation of Margaret Dumont. At times, Pat Proft's script comes off more like a 3 Stooges short than a Marx Brothers romp, but that's not so bad. What hurts the film is its fluctuating pace, which shifts into neutral just when it should go into hyperdrive. Will Vinton's Claymation opening titles supply some of the film's biggest laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Bob Nelson, (more)
- 1989
- R
Produced for London Weekend Television, Wilt is based on the novel of the same name by Tom Sharpe. Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, stars of the internationally popular TV series Not Necessarily the News, head the cast as Henry Wilt and Inspector Flint. Though master of his own destiny on the lecture circuit, Wilt is a natural-born doormat in his day-to-day life. He also has a bad habit of inadvertently gumming up the various investigations conducted by Inspector Flint. Things come to a head when the hapless Wilt is implicated in a murder, allowing the zealous Flint to persecute -- er, prosecute -- the poor man to the full limit of the law. With its parade of eccentric character and Gilbert & Sullivan-style plot complications, Wilt can't help but raise chuckles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, (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)
- 1988
Stuart Orme directed this charming children's adventure-fantasy based on the book by Joan Aiken. Set during the imaginary reign of King James III, sometime in the last century, the story takes place in the snowbound and wolf-infested North Yorkshire countryside in England. The tale centers upon two children -- Bonnie (Emily Hudson) and Sylvia (Aleks Darowska) -- and how they attempt to foil a sinister plot by their evil governess Slighcarp (Stephanie Beacham). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephanie Beacham, Mel Smith, (more)
Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
- 1985
- PG13
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Despite the many adventures they suffered in National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswold family decides to take another crack at having fun. This time, the doltish clan heads across the Atlantic for a whirlwind vacation after winning a game show. Will the monuments of Europe survive? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, (more)
In this Scottish comedy, two young fellows disguise themselves as a clown and a wolf-man and begin robbing tourist buses. Somehow the two end up considered national heroes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Friell, Joe Mullaney, (more)
- 1984
In this conventional, formulaic tale about a nonchalant snooker (pool, British style) hustler who is conned into competing in a national championship, good ensemble acting carries the story beyond its predictable evolution. Bob Geldof is Harry (Flash) Gordon, the snooker player who hustles games in low-end London halls, picking up a little cash here and there and also getting into occasional trouble. Nevertheless, he is more or less content with his life and his girlfriend (a prostitute who loves him) until promoter Billy Evans (Mel Smith) comes along and convinces him to leave the penny-ante and troubles behind and compete in a national championship for real money. Big stakes create bigger headaches, and by the time the final game is set to be played, Gordon is faced with a decision to either save his skin and give in to pressure to throw the game, or stick to his scruples and play the best he can. For foreign, including American English speakers, the accents in the snooker halls may leave them a little linguistically snookered at first. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Alison Steadman, (more)
In this undistinguished crime drama, Peter Coyote plays a thief on the run after an attempt to rob an armored car in upstate New York ends in the death of a little girl. Her father sends a hitman (Philip Sayer) to avenge her death, and the rest of the film is a long series of near-misses as the hitman chases the thief, until the latter ends up in England at the home of a friend whose wife owns an amusement park. But in this jet age, an ocean does not offer much of a barrier, and the chase continues on British soil. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Coyote, Mel Smith, (more)
- 1983
- PG
Plot is a secondary consideration in this partially successful, partially failed take-off on the Bulldog Drummond series of the 1930s. "Bullshot" Crummond (Alan Shearman) is a square-jawed hero of World War I who longs to face off against his German arch-nemesis Count Otto von Bruno (Ron House) one more time. He gets his chance when he must save Rosemary Fenton (Diz White), a damsel in distress -- her father made a top-secret discovery before he died and Count von Bruno wants that secret for himself, no matter what happens to the good Rosemary. As the hijinks unfold inside the requisite Sinister Mansion (Bullshot fights a giant octopus and leaps onto a plane in mid-air as the action reaches a crescendo), caricature, and zany anarchy provide the humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Shearman, Diz White, (more)
- 1980
Babylon is a gritty, neorealist account of the lives of a group of West Indian youths living in London. Blue (Brinsley Forde) is the Rastafarian leader of a Sound System (a mobile disc-jockey team who spin reggae records at clubs, parties, and other gatherings) who is trying to prepare for an upcoming Sound System competition. Blue's love of music is one of the few positive outlets in his life; with the crime and violence of London's slums, the verbal and physical attacks by racist whites, and the jealousy of other DJs, Blue is reaching the end of his rope. That rope begins to fray when Blue is fired from his job, is brutally attacked by police officers, and discovers that his DJ equipment has been destroyed by angry neighbors. Unlike most films about reggae music and culture, Babylon doesn't explore the sunny side of Jamaican life or West Indian gangland culture; instead, it looks at how the implicit radicalism of reggae mirrored political and social concerns in the urban areas outside Jamaica where the music was so enthusiastically embraced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brinsley Forde, Karl Howman, (more)
