Some films are so entertaining, so wise, or just so great that they become classics in their particular genres. There are comedic classics, romantic classics, and dramatic classics.
But some movies are simply classics. They transcend their genres and stand in the pantheon of wonderful films. "A Fish Called Wanda" is such a film. One of the most consistently entertaining films ever made, it was showered with critical praise and won Kevin Kline an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It still ranks as the second highest grossing British film of all time, overtaken only recently by "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
After nearly a decade, the cast has reunited in "Fierce Creatures." Originally, the plan was to make a sequel to "A Fish Called Wanda." They soon changed their mind, and have created, in Jamie Lee Curtis' words, "an equal, not a sequel."
Unfortunately, she is wrong. "Fierce Creatures" is no such equal to "A Fish Called Wanda." Although entertaining, it lacks the whimsical but cohesive fun of their earlier effort.
This time around, John Cleese shares writing credit with Iain Johnstone, a British film critic. Originally based on a pre-"Monty Python" sketch by Cleese and Michael Palin, the script attempts to temper comedy with bits of social commentary. It never really succeeds in telling us anything we have not heard before, and the commentary is never even fully exploited as a comedic device.
The film is a story about corporate greed and the search for higher revenues and bigger profits, no matter what the cost. Rod McCain (Kevin Kline) is a Ted Turner-esque mogul who buys up companies and demands that they make a minimum profit of twenty percent. Otherwise, he scraps them.
His most recent acquisition is the Marbury Zoo in England. He hires Rollo Lee (John Cleese), an ex-cop from Hong Kong, to make the zoo profitable. Rollo's experience as a police officer has told him that what people really want to see is violence. Consequently, he implements a policy that only fierce, man-eating creatures may be kept at the zoo. All others must go, even if it means shooting them.
The zoo keepers, including Bugsy Malone (Michael Palin), revolt and do everything in their power to make Rollo look foolish. Rod soon calls in Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis), and his bumbling, thieving son, Vince (Kevin Kline again), to bring the place up to speed. Vince's idea is to find a corporate sponsor for everything at the zoo. There is the "Bruce Springsteen Tortoise," the "British Airways Aviary," and even a poor tiger who wears a little bottle-shaped coat that says "Absolut Fierce."
Vince's efforts seem to pay off, but the zoo still does not meet its twenty percent profits goal. Soon, Rod visits the zoo and decides to close it down.
However, Willa and Rollo have begun to fall in love with each other and the zoo. Along with Bugsy, they conspire to save the zoo.
Predictably, the movie's climax is a blur of impersonations, deceptions and quick changes. Much of the comedy here is sexual, with running gags about Rollo's seemingly dizzying sexual prowess with two and three women at once, and multiple jokes about Jamie Lee Curtis' ample endowments.
In fact, the PG-13 rating combined with the multitudes of sexual humor is quite reminiscent of an episode of television's "Three's Company." Everyone makes off-color jokes that are just tame enough not to upbraid the censors.
The film is quickly paced, but the cast seems to lack gusto. Curtis goes through the motions of her Wanda character but without the bite she once had. Cleese, as always, is a master of bumbling and timing, but he too seems a bit tired. Palin works hard with what he has, but it is not much. His stuttering Ken in "A Fish Called Wanda" was a supporting character who almost stole the show. This time, he does not even seem to have a character, and is relegated to very few real scenes.
Perhaps because he is the one with the Oscar, Kline's dual roles are really the centerpieces of the movie. He is quite funny, but seems to be working a little too hard for his laughs. Because of the lackadaisical performances of the rest of the cast, he has overcompensated, and can come on too strong.
"Fierce Creatures" is not a poor movie by itself. You will be entertained, and you will laugh. But "Fierce Creatures" is not a movie that stands alone. No matter how hard it might try to be its own film, you cannot help but make comparisons to "A Fish Called Wanda." And "Fierce Creatures" is not nearly as good as "A Fish Called Wanda."
