Review of Yellowbeard (1983) by Barnaby E — 15 Feb 2009

Sometimes, things that you desperately want to see work just don't, however much you will them to. This is a case in point. I still like it as a movie, even though it never lives up to the sum of its parts, but's that's because I have an in-built love for the underdog! It's an adventerous, swashbuckling pantomime of a comedic pirate movie, long before Captain Jack Sparrow was a twinkle in Disney's eye.

Graham Chapman exudes manic agression (and a loveable one-track mind concerning the twin pleasures of wenches and wealth) as the antihero the film gains its title from. Yellowbeard! Marty Feldman, in his last film, gives a detailed and nuanced performances as his scheming sidekick.

The cast is peppered with famous people, like Peter Cook, Michael Hordern, Spike Milligan, Cheech & Chong, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Peter Boyle, Kenneth Mars, Madeleine Kahn, James Mason, and Nigel Planer (to name a few!) - all with well-written and decent characters.

The script is uneven in tone but still delivers some laugh-out-loud jokes. However, this pirate movie never quite shows enough treasure to make the journey worthwhile. It's certainly worth watching, and maybe you'll love it like I do, but as a nearly Python movie, it's ranked alongside 'Erik The Viking' in the Could Try Harder category.