Splitting Heirs
Time Out says
Eric Idle's script may pack in any amount of would-be comedic standbys - big bosoms, naked men hiding in wardrobes, national and ethnic stereotypes, bungled murder attempts, more big bosoms - but its cynical contrivance and lumbering execution fail to raise a laugh from beginning to end. The basic plot is Kind Hearts and Coronets rewritten for the mall-rat generation. Tommy Patel (Idle), a humble city broker, discovers that he's the lost Duke of Bournemouth, heir to a fortune currently hogged by American imposter Henry Maitland (Moranis). With the sinister complicity of legal vulture Shadgrind (Cleese, self-parodic), our aspirant aristo decides to bump off the Yank pretender; but before he can claim the title, there's a near-incestuous entanglement with the man-hungry widowed Duchess (Hershey) to be negotiated. Hershey's embarrassed presence, and the flailing efforts of the former Pythons, make this tedious cavalcade of thumping obviousness even more cringe-worthy than it already is.
Details
Release details
Duration:
87 mins
Cast and crew
Director:
Robert Young
Screenwriter:
Eric Idle
Cast:
Eric Idle
Rick Moranis
Barbara Hershey
Catherine Zeta Jones
John Cleese
Sadie Frost
Stratford Johns
Brenda Bruce
Eric Sykes
Rick Moranis
Barbara Hershey
Catherine Zeta Jones
John Cleese
Sadie Frost
Stratford Johns
Brenda Bruce
Eric Sykes