The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt

I saw the movie before I read the book and it urged me to get a hold of it. The movie is very true to the book - naturally it's unfair to compare the two media, but the script writers did a splendid job. I laughed from beginning to end. Another plus is the choice of actors. Griff Rhys Jones is perfect in the title role and Mel Smith is a tailor made Flynt. I really loved this movie and it made me a BIG Tom Sharpe Fan - I've got all his books now. If you like British comedy you have to see this. You won't see Hollywood produce a "Wilt"!

Griff Rhys Jones plays the part of poor Henry Wilt perfectly for me, in a film that stays closer to the book than most do.

The rest of the performers are well cast too, especially the characters of Sally and Eva, who are exactly as I imagined them. I guess you can't go wrong with Alison Steadman though, and Diana Quick was just as believable. Their relentless attempts to undermine and, basically, destroy Wilt add pathos to what would otherwise be a straightforward comedy in a most effective way.

My favourite parts though have to be Wilt's interactions with the 'students' and especially with Inspector Flint and the psychiatrist. His intellectual superiority shines through, and to me is absolutely hilarious.

There is some wonderfully hammy melodrama in the church/churchyard scene later in the film, just to round things off nicely. What more could you ask for?

Wonderful entertainment.

I was looking forward to this film, because I'm a big fan of Tom Sharpe's novels. At the same time I was rather apprehensive as well. This is a comedy, and comedy movies are made these days with a family audience in mind. Tom Sharpe's novel Wilt certainly does not fit into this bracket and so I expected some dreaded compromises.

Inevitably, they came. Of course, the film still has a US R-rating and a UK 15 rating, but this has more to do with the intrinsic adult nature of the basic material than with the film makers' attempts to preserve the spirit of the novel. The whole thing still felt much too sanitised, too toned down, too understated. Part of the problem might have been that filming faithfully the original story would have made some middle-aged established actors and actresses occasionally prance around in the buff, simulate drug abuse, and molest each other, but the story really needed a higher dosage of excessiveness.

Okay, so 'classic' may be a little overstating 'Wilt,' but, whenever British comedy films are mentioned, it never even gets a look in, which I feel is a little unfair. Yes, there are no real 'stars' in the film to broaden its appeal. Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones may be easily recognisable faces on UK TV, but it's unlikely anyone will be too familiar with their work overseas.

Perhaps that's 'Wilt's' major charm – it's a very British film. And I don't mean the weird portrayal of British life that Richard Curtis seems to want to sell the worldwide audiences. The plot is simple: Jones plays the titular character, Mr Wilt, who, after years of living with his overbearing wife, finds she's disappeared. He doesn't seem that bothered, whereas dopey local detective, played by Mel Smith, feels the need to prove that Wilt is more murderer than he seems.

There may be only a few 'laugh out loud' moments in the film, but that doesn't mean that you won't smile. The humour is, largely, subtle and understated, as are the performances. Perhaps the best way to enjoy the film is to lower your expectations slightly. Don't go thinking it's going to be a massively laugh-a-minute ride. Its charm is its poignancy and the feeling of overall sadness about a group of people who, by and large, aren't really happy with their lives, no matter how hard they pretend to be.

If you want something with plenty of poignant, subtle black humour, you may want to give this a try. I'm guessing it'll only appeal to us Brits, but I'm hoping it'll also strike a chord with other nationalities, too.

http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Many reviewers seem to have missed the point of this film. It was a vehicle for the talents of Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith who were the top TV comedy team of the period. This film even incorporates one of their trademark comedy sketches,where they face each other in profile whilst carrying on a comedy dialogue.

So the novel they used was just a peg on which to hang their comedy characters. It has its funny moments.

In fact it is probably the best of their films. Morons from outer space didn't even achieve a cinema release The film actually performed reasonably in the UK but sank without a trace elsewhere.