This is Cleese doing what Cleese does best. Right, I mean insanity by inches.

He starts as a utterly rigid headmaster, the kind so precise that he stops in mid-sentence to make sure that the clock ticks when it should. Right. He sets out, at the precise moment, to accept a major award for himself and his school. Right?

Right.

Then just a little thing happens. A very little thing. He asks the way to the train - which is it? Left?

Right.

And right he goes. From that point forward, it's a comedy of errors. At each new error, Cleese's character adds a notch to the pressure. Step by step, the frenzy increases, new characters add their bits to the pressure ("sherry glasses", for example), until you expect everyone to burst a vein. Somewhere along the line, Cleese ends up in just his boxers, as required. The ending is very British, with all of the various police jurisdictions politely working out which characters go to which gaols.

I swear, I've had days like that.

There are a few nits to pick here. That high-school girl had more of a twenty-something look about her, for example. But c'mon, the story works, the characters work, the mishaps work, and it all comes together in the perfect "thank gawd it's not me" experience.

If you set your expectations low enough, this is sure to exceed them. It's a specimen of the 'goofy britcom' species, and a stunning one at that. Enjoy it for what it is.

//wiredweird

I've watched a few of the movies that Cleese has been in (Monty Python series; A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures etc...) and have found them all to be quite funny, so I had high hopes when I got this movie.

Basically, Cleese is an uptight headmaster of a British School whose punctiliousness has led to his being chosen as the chairman of the National Headmasters Association (or some such name). Unfortunately on the day when he is to give his speech, a series of incidents occur that could lead to his being late for the meeting. That is where the fun begins, and you go on a roller-coaster ride, as one incident after another occurs that adds to the chaos.

Cleese as usual is hilarious, but I couldn't help feeling that the plot was a little bit too simplistic; linear almost, and were it not for his acting, the movie would have flopped. Overall, it wasn't a bad movie, it had its funny parts, but I don't think it was anything near his best. If you want to watch Cleese at his best, I would suggest _A fish called Wanda_ where he teams up with Michael Pallin and Kevin Kline.

John Cleese is at his best in this jolly picture. Wonderful scrip and actor's staff. Five Stars!

It doesn't have much in the way of penetrating insights into religion, but this frantic Frayn/Cleese race across East Anglia is as good a transposition of farce to the silver screen as we've ever seen. The pace is kept just taut enough throughout (something A Fish Called Wanda never managed) and the roll-call of British character actors is dished out liberally without ever turning into an "ooh look, it's him off of Kinvig!" distraction, most notably Geoffrey Palmer, Penelope Wilton and Stephen Moore.

To anyone who attended a British public school this is a MUST VIEW! To any one else who has a sense of humour or who likes to keep their lives organized it is also unparalleled. The scene where Cleese plays a monk chasing a young lady along a country lane says it all. Headmasters...this one's for you!