There are some movies that have this general appeal making them perfect for any time of day or night. Fierce Creatures is one of those movies, an easygoing comedy with a phenomenal cast and an excellent script. It’s just so fucking endearing that you won’t have a choice but fall in love with it. The story follows a newly appointed zoo director trying to make it as profitable as possible. This will create all kinds of strange and bizarre situations. Apart from this main plot, we’ve got several, equally funny sub-plots and characters. I have to be partial here and say that I loved how the movie ridiculed capitalism more than anything else.
Fierce Creatures also makes fun of Rupert Murdoch, billionaire businessman, and media tycoon, and this fact alone makes it worth watching. On top of that, we have all these cute animals, quirky characters, and the whole corporate thing. So, what more to want from a comedy? Perhaps an ensemble cast? Well, you got it! We have John motherfucking Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Micheal Palin! It’s a true joy to watch these professionals make the most of every scene and little detail. They know exactly what they’re doing and how should they do it. And while this movie was announced as the unofficial sequel to A Fish Called Wanda, it does stand on its own quite well.
Octopus Inc. is one of those huge corporations doing all kinds of evil, capitalistic shit all over the world. Rod McCain, the owner of the company, has instituted a policy of 20% revenue no matter what the business is and it proved to be successful. And while his latest acquisition is the Marwood Zoo, it too needs to meet those standards. To sort this out, he hires Rollo Lee, a retired Hong Kong Police Force officer and former Octopus Television employee. However, when Rollo tries to implement his plan he will learn that this is going to be a problem.
Fierce Creatures is full of intelligent jokes and gags you can watch with your parents or kids and not have those awkward moments of silence. Moreover, they are so well written that you will wonder how the fuck did they pull this off without sounding crass or dirty. It’s always good to take a break from the usually raunchy comedies and see something different. One of the funniest things in the movie for me was the relationship between Rollo and Willa, where she sees him as a sex-crazed maniac. And this, of course, could not be farther from the truth. Finally, if you’re looking for something like Fierce Creatures, I recommend you check out Clockwise, Without a Clue, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
Directors: Fred Schepisi, Robert Young
Writers: John Cleese, Iain Johnstone, Terry Jones
Cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Carey Lowell
Fun Facts: The line “It’s just a flesh wound” was previously delivered by John Cleese as the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119115/
