Churchill – The Hollywood Years If you thought that you knew anything about the British Prime Minister during the second world, Churchill, then this film is ready to set you straight.
This film is like a who’s who of English comedy, with cast members from The Young Ones, Reeves & Mortimer, League of Gentlemen, The Office, Harry Enfield, Black Adder, Dead Ringers and Stella Street all topped with Christian Slater as Churchill and Neve Campbell as Princess Elizabeth. Even the director Peter Richardson, has some pedigree, having been involved with the alternative English comedy movement since the late 1970’s, and following the movement through Comic Strip Presents, the Young Ones (he was the original Mike) and into the features The Supergrass and the excellent Eat The Rich. It is undoubled Richardson pedigree that helped pull together the cast.
I would love to say that this is cutting edge, or a new breakthrough in humour, but it isn’t. The comedians and the characters that they create provide the value, and the story is so simple and silly that it becomes part of the joke. WWII, the English ineptly resist the Hitler and try to carry on their merry way of life. Hitler arrives for a secret meeting that the Prime Minister has set up with King George V, and immediately falls in love with young Elizabeth at The Palace. All is not lost as the US Marine Winston Churchill (and his buddy Denzil Eisenhower) arrives to save the day.
This could have been a much better film if the story had been stronger, but there is a joy in watching such a range of familiar English comedy faces in this ensemble. Don’t set your hopes too high. Credit