John Cleese attempts to recreate the success of A Fish Called Wanda (1988) in a film (almost) completed seven years later (1995). Test audiences hated the ending, and so Cleese worked another two years, hiring a second director and waiting for Michael Palin to finish another project before finally finishing Fierce Creatures in 1997.
The result could be called "A Fish Called Wanda (Light)," not as good as the first film, but with a number of humorous scenes. The cast is almost identical. Jamie Lee Curtis is hired by Kevin Kline to be VP of a TV station (or something), but Kline (in an apparent satirical version of Rupert Murdoch) has just sold the TV station. So Kline gives Curtis a zoo to manage instead, along with Kline's daft son (also played by Kevin Kline).
He and Curtis take over the zoo from John Cleese, who has been assigned by old-man Kline to make the zoo show a 20% profit. Cleese decides to do this by ridding the zoo of cuddly animals and replacing them with Fierce Creatures.
Curtis' main role is to bend over and show her ass and cleavage, and since this film is rated PG-13, that's all she shows (unlike the R-rated Fish Called Wanda). She makes the most of it, and is sexy and funny.
The film is amusing in parts, laugh-out-loud in a couple of scenes, and mediocre throughout much of the rest. Fierce Creatures went on to lose about 10 million dollars, where A Fish Called Wanda had been a big success. Fierce Creatures is worth seeing if you like Monty Python, if you like Jamie Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, or Michael Palin. If you want to sit back and watch an amusing farce, this is not a bad choice, although it is a bit of a bad movie.
The result could be called "A Fish Called Wanda (Light)," not as good as the first film, but with a number of humorous scenes. The cast is almost identical. Jamie Lee Curtis is hired by Kevin Kline to be VP of a TV station (or something), but Kline (in an apparent satirical version of Rupert Murdoch) has just sold the TV station. So Kline gives Curtis a zoo to manage instead, along with Kline's daft son (also played by Kevin Kline).
He and Curtis take over the zoo from John Cleese, who has been assigned by old-man Kline to make the zoo show a 20% profit. Cleese decides to do this by ridding the zoo of cuddly animals and replacing them with Fierce Creatures.
Curtis' main role is to bend over and show her ass and cleavage, and since this film is rated PG-13, that's all she shows (unlike the R-rated Fish Called Wanda). She makes the most of it, and is sexy and funny.
The film is amusing in parts, laugh-out-loud in a couple of scenes, and mediocre throughout much of the rest. Fierce Creatures went on to lose about 10 million dollars, where A Fish Called Wanda had been a big success. Fierce Creatures is worth seeing if you like Monty Python, if you like Jamie Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, or Michael Palin. If you want to sit back and watch an amusing farce, this is not a bad choice, although it is a bit of a bad movie.