Fierce Creatures (1997)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Directors:

Fred Schepisi
Robert Young

Writers:

John Cleese (writer) &
Iain Johnstone (writer)

Release Date:

24 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Don't pet them.

Plot:

Zookeepers struggle to deal with the policies of changing directors.

Plot Keywords:

Zoo | Animal | Marketing | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Black Mood

Cast

John Cleese	...	Rollo Lee
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Willa Weston
Kevin Kline	...	Vince McCain / Rod McCain
Robert Lindsay	...	Sydney Lotterby
Michael Palin	...	Adrian 'Bugsy' Malone
Ronnie Corbett	...	Reggie Sea Lions
Carey Lowell	...	Cub Felines
Bille Brown	...	Neville
Derek Griffiths	...	Garry Ungulates
Cynthia Cleese	...	Pip Small Mammals
Richard Ridings	...	Hugh Primates
Maria Aitken	...	Di Harding
Michael Percival	...	Ant Keeper
Fred Evans	...	Flamingo Keeper
Lisa Hogan	...	Sea lion Keeper

Also Known As:

Death Fish II (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34999) | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 (bw) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Fish Productions

Trivia:

Terry, Bugsy's pet tarantula, was named for Terry Jones, who, with Michael Palin (who plays Bugsy), wrote a sketch called "The Fierce Creatures Policy", on which the movie is based.

Goofs:

Continuity: The foam in Vince's champagne glass when he pours it and drinks it.

Quotes:

Vince McCain: You mean he's dead?
Willa Weston: [sombre] Yes.
Vince McCain: And he's not coming back?
Rollo Lee: [sombre] No. I'm sorry.
[Vince leans his head against the wall, as though grieving, then tilts back his head and everyone sees him laughing]
Vince McCain: I'm so happy!
[to Rod's corpse]
Vince McCain: You're dead! You're dead! You're dead!
[punching it]
Vince McCain: You big-fat-bastard! YES!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in What the Pythons Did Next... (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hungy Heart

Tacky, but funny

I can't tell you how many times I've seen this movie; a rough estimate would be at least half a dozen times, just through three or four years. And amazingly enough, I laugh every single time. It may be that Michael Palin is just so damn funny and typically Monty Python-like in the film, it may be that Jamie Lee Curtis has a surprising amount of comedic talent, it may be that Kevin Kline is excellent in both of his roles in the film... heck, it may even be John Cleese's entertaining performance... and I'm not even a fan of him. The film manages to be incredibly funny despite being very tacky and downright tasteless in many, many scenes. The plot is pretty good, and, as far as I know, quite original. It deals with a multi-billionaire and a zoo, which (obviously) doesn't make a lot of money, like the billionaire wants it to. The film has a good pace and is rarely - if ever - boring. The acting is very good, but one wouldn't expect any less from such names as John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. It was also a nice surprise to recognize Richard Ridings, who plays one of my favorite characters in the Luc Besson film, Jeanne D'arc: La Hire. I recognized him almost instantly by his very distinguished laugh. The characters are well-written, well-cast and well-acted, as well as credible. I thoroughly enjoyed most of them, even though they are mostly caricatures. That just added to the humor of the film, I think. As in several other of Kevin Kline's films, he plays two parts, and he, as always(well, nearly always, anyway) does so very well. I understand that this is, in some ways, apparently a sequel to the late-80's comedy A Fish Called Wanda; now, I haven't seen that film, so I can't really comment on how the two relate to each other, but if "Wanda" is in any way as funny as this movie, I'm gonna have to see it sometime. The humor is excellent; black, crude humor at its best. All in all, a very good comedy if you don't mind some tacky humor. I recommend it to fans of any of the actors, fans of tacky/crude/black humor and even fans of Monty Python, since both members involved in this are great. 7/10