Johnny English (Widescreen Edition)

Johnny English (Widescreen Edition)
by Peter Howitt

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DVD Reviews of Johnny English (Widescreen Edition)

DVD Review: His name is English... Johnny English
Summary: 4 Stars

After all British special agents are assassinated, it's up to Johnny English, originally an ungainly desk jockey whose closest work in espionage involved handing agents their mission files. This is a chance for him to fulfill his dream of being a suave agent, and he is chosen by Pegasus, the code name of the MI7 director, to protect the Crown Jewels at a party held by Pascal Sauvage, a Frenchman who has designed many prisons in Europe. Well, guess what happens? Oh, he meets and falls for Lorna Campbell, played by Natalie Imbruglia. Their second meeting at a sushi shop is hilarious.

He is assisted in this by Bough, his harried co-worker. Much of the gags involve gadgets misfiring under English's handling them. Others involve English's bumbling at the expense of other people. While tracking down the perpetrators in a sham hearse, he mistakenly follows a real hearse en route to the cemetery. He terrorizes the mourners, even the widow. Fortunately, by the time he realizes his mistake, Bough rescues him in time by making everyone think English is an escaped mental patient who was accidentally released early--"his release date is 2028." English catches on and not only feigns a mental case, he even utters indistinct guttural sounds that left me smiling.

Rowan Atkinson plays the title character in a more reserved manner. There are none of the high impact facial aerobics that carried the Bean movie more than the story. However, the funniest sequence involves Johnny English doing a funky dance and jamming to Abba's "Does Your Mother Know." And a poopoo joke is actually quite funny.

John Malkovich has the most thankless role as Pascal Sauvage, affecting an exaggerated French accent and sporting bad hair and unappealing makeup. Then again, this is Rowan's second starring vehicle, so what else can we say?

And pretty Natalie Imbruglia (Lorna) proves she's just as good an actress as she is a singer. Then again, she starred in The Neighbors soap opera in her native Australia. Her slender figure, pointed chin, and raven black hair really highlight her competent, unruffled performance.

Veteran British actors Tim Piggott-Smith (Pegasus) and Oliver Ford Davies (the Archbishop) appear, the latter having some really humiliating moments, including the tattoo gag lifted from The Naked Gun 2.5.

The laughs are in the vein of Black Adder, i.e. the best laid plans of mice and English, and Fawlty Towers-like misunderstandings and mishaps rather than the silent comedy of Mr. Bean. There is an in-joke in the movie. This movie is touted as a James Bond spoof, right? Well, there is a Bond that appears in this film--four of them. I'm of course referring to the female techno/classical string quartet Bond, who play their tune "Kismet" at Sauvage's soiree.

At one point in this movie, Johnny says resignedly, "I'm a spent force." That's not the case with Rowan Atkinson, who comes up with a nice winner and showing that's he's a tried and true Englishman, to Queen and country, to the core. Those who are turned off the juvenile mugging of Austin Powers and want something less loud, less gross, and more reserved, Johnny English is just the ticket.

Description of Johnny English (Widescreen Edition)