SLEEPING WITH THE PAST: MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, SPLITTING HEIRS
but Shagrind tells him nothing can be done except arrange an "accident."
This is farce, and farce needs to be played exactly right, or it hangs dead in the air. Idle (who also wrote the script) and Young don't play it right at all. For starters, Idle is too old to play the part, and looks it. For another, instead of anything fresh, the movie uses tired stereotypes and situations (is it any surprise, for example, that Hershey's character is a nympho?). Young at least moves it at a brisk clip (thankfully, it's only 87 minutes), but it still ends too late. And while Hershey tries her best, and Zeta Jones certainly looks attractive, the only one who seems at home here is Cleese. He seems to be channeling Idle's "Nudge, Nudge" character from the Python skit, and making him dangerous, and he always seems to have fun playing villains. Pity SPLITTING HEIRS isn't fun for the rest of us.
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