Review of Fierce Creatures (1997) by David A — 21 Apr 2010

(from The Watermark 02/06/97).

The cast of A Fish Called Wanda is back, and in spite of a tough act to follow, they deliver a second film that is every bit as enjoyable as the first. Cleese is hired to run an English zoo that has been acquired by an American corporation. He rules with an iron fist, and is despised by all of the zoo workers. Then Curtis and Kline, representing the corporation, show up and decide to manage things themselves. Cleese, now on the side of the workers, must try and keep the corporation from running the zoo into the ground as it becomes a ridiculous homage to theme-park cutesiness, brand-name product placement, and celebrity sensationalism. Whereas Wanda was an action-romance with laughs, Creatures is an all-out satirical farce. Cleese and co-screenwriter Iain Johnstone steadily build the humor from beginning to end, and the well-grounded cast are able to make the script's quirkiness even more hilarious. Cleese is especially in top form playing his hard-as-nails Fawlty Towers character who eventually turns out to be an old softie. Few comedies on the silver screen get much funnier than this. (And with only a PG-13 rating, no less.).