January 23–30, 1997

movie shorts

FIERCE CREATURES

After succeeding with the Anglo-American hybrid A Fish Called Wanda, John Cleese has applied the formula to what will probably be another smashing success, at least at the box office. The four principal actors are the same, and there arenumerous sly nods to "Wanda," but the names are different, and the story now involves an English zoo bought by a Murdoch-style tycoon. Cleese is its crusty but kind-hearted overseer, implementing the directive that the zoo attract crowds bystocking only savage, scary animals (hence the title). The movie has no major flaws, only a surfeit of minor ones: Cleese's middle-aged Rollo Lee does not have the comic timing of the young Basil Fawlty; Michael Palin is again wasted, doing hisAnarcho-Syndicalist Peasant bit for 90 minutes; Jamie Lee Cleavage does another 2-dimensional, devilish-grinned "strong woman" who (surprise!) again falls in love with Cleese; Kevin Kline pushes Vince, the crazed American character, intohysteria (though he does fine as Vince's irrascible father); and the plot's clumsy pace results in a hasty ending. Still, you've got to admire a movie that trumps Wayne's World's shtick of mocking product placement while pushing massiveamounts of advertising in your face. Absolut brilliance!

— Vance Lehmkuhl

(AMC Andorra; UA Grant; UA Riverview)