WHOOPS APOCALYPSE
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1988 Jeff Meyer
WHOOPS APOCALYPSE (Great Britain, 1986)
Director: Tom Bussman Screenwriters: Andrew Marshall, David Renwick Cast: Loretta Swit, Peter Cook, Michael Richards, Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle, Herbert Lom
WHOOPS APOCALYPSE is a hybrid of British humor; I think it could be described as two parts "Spitting Image," two parts NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS, a shot of Monty Python and a jigger of Benny Hill. While many parts of it work (more than you would expect, really), it seems to lack a cohesiveness of style. Monty Python might have been comic guerilla warfare, but it was constantly loony -- you never got Bob Hope "whoopie" jokes thrown in.
Basically, this is something of a takeoff on the British/Argentina situation of a few years ago. After a small British colony is invaded by its neighboring right-wing dictatorship, the British invade the country to regain it. In the midst of this, an international terrorist kidnaps the royal princess, provoking the PM (a complete loony, wonderfully played by Peter Cook) to threaten a nuclear strike against the dictatorship if the princess returned in 48 hours. Meanwhile, the President (Loretta Swit) tries to calm both allies (not wanting to offend either side, since they're both tough on communism). Well, you get the idea.
Best parts include the entire premise that while Cook is off his nut, his insane right-wing policies are supported without question by the rest of the country, and the anti-terrorist squad bit, which goes over the top several times but is generally pretty good. Much of the humor isn't predictable, and that goes a long way for me.
I suspect this will appear on HBO or Showtime sometime soon (if it hasn't already). It's certainly worth the time to tape it and play it back, if only for the closing credits. Not a classic, but good violent humor where little children get punched out by Secret Service agents. My type of film.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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