The Great McGonagall

This is the film that "Wind From the East" so desperately wanted to be. Deconstructs itself before your very eyes. Hilarious and mystifying. Spike Milligan and Joe McGrath were made for each other. And Peter Sellers is on board too. I find it hard to believe this classic of the Cinema of the Absurd is so little known. But then so is McGrath -- the Edgar G. Ulmer of British comedy. While Richard Lester is more associated with "The Goon Shpw" -- thanks to "The Running Jumping and Standing Still Film," it's McGrath who conveys the true Goonish sense of intellectual lunacy. The fact that the entire film is shot inside of a theater -- used to suggest the whole world -- is especially novel and fascinating.

Sadly neglected and forgotten gem of a movie showcasing the incredible and anarchic humour of legend Spike Milligan. Spike plays the eponymous hero of the movie, the Great Mcgonagall, the worlds worst poet who "gave up his job as an unemployed weaver to follow the muse." The gloriously inventive non-structure of the movie eschews any sense of order and usurps all accepted movie conventions. The action taking place, for the most part, in a rambling old theatre. Indeed, the whole production has a stagey feel and the viewer almost feels as if they are part of an insane scatter gun rehearsal filled with ad libbing and uncorrected mistakes. In one scene Spike and the wonderful Victor Spinetti, who appears in numerous roles, do several takes much to the annoyance of very real director Joseph McGrath.

There's awful poetry, a cross dressing Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria (favourite quote, "shit, we are not amused!"), Prince Albert replete with Nazi uniform and Hitler Moustache, and gags galore. Spike's comedic genius was sadly neglected in cinema which is a travesty when one considers the hilarious calibre of original jokes here, delivered with a malicious and surreal glee. For further proof of Spike's incredible talent hunt down a copy of The Bed-sitting Room.

McGonagall is presented as a believably bad poet - someone you could expect to outsell all other Scottish poets combined, simply because his work is so mind-bogglingly banal.

This is an extremely charming, outrageously funny and also tragic film. There is no doubt that some will not be able to tolerate the amount of pathos generated by a good and simple man (like Nathan in Steve Martin's "The Jerk") who just wanted to follow his heart and do his best in life.

McGonagall puts all his heart and soul into his renditions (each one beginning with blood-curdling moan) and yet he is mercilessly scoffed at by the cognoscenti.

McGonagall's fictional poems will haunt you for life, and you'll never be able to see a simple object like a cow or a bridge without being tempted to burst into a long "Ooooooooooooooh!". Peter Sellers also makes a charming brief appearance as Queen Victoria.

Interesting in an history of British comedy sense. It has a Goon Show cast does Monty Python skit feel. Unfortunately, it takes a concept that would have been appropriate for a five minute skit and stretches it out an additional hour and a half. A fine supporting performance by Peter Sellers and sporadic gratuitous female nudity (while appreciated) are insufficient to save this from being an albeit quirky and unique but simultaneously mediocre and repetitive low budget comedy.

As an aside, the video copy of this film that I purchased features a full cover picture of Peter Sellers and in the short synopsis on the reverse states that Sellers stars as The Great McGonagall. For the benefit of those of you who have yet to see the film, this is entirely incorrect. Peter Sellers plays the relatively small roll of Queen Victoria and Spike Milligan stars as McGonagall.

Firstly I ought to say that apart from me its hard to see who this film will appeal to. To really enjoy it i think that you have to love the real poet Mcgonagall (otherwise you will miss the hilarious fact that all the poetry read in the film is quite real and written seriously) and have to appreciate the very surreal pythonesque humor (such as Prince Albert being dressed as Hitler from the waist up). If your one of the dozen people who fit into both of these categories you will adore the film as I did. However I must say that the best part of it was just listening to Spike Milligan (and Queen Victoria!) reading Mcgonagall's poetry. Surprisingly given the absolute madness of the film the ending is actually very touching.