RENTADICK

UK, 1972, 94 minutes, Colour.
James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Donald Sinden, Roy Kinnear.
Directed by Jim Clark.




Rentadick is one of those breathless comedies of the late '60s and early '70s from Britain. It is in the vein of such satiric farces as The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom or The Magic Christian. It is of historical interest insofar as the screenplay was written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. There is additional dialogue by John Wells and John Fortune. The Monthly Film Bulletin from England referred to the Cleese- Chapman style as 'clipped lunacy' and there is a great deal of that. However, it is also pointed out that this works better in short sketches rather than in a full-length feature. The film starts with rather breathless pace and seems to be very clever comedy indeed. However, as the film moves on it becomes confusing and tedious rather than creative and imaginative.

The film also highlights British sex farce, stereotypes and humour. A solid British cast goes through its paces trying to give life to the writing, the sight gags, the editing.

The film can be seen as a stage in the development of the acting and writing careers of the Monty Python group, especially John Cleese and Graham Chapman, who were soon to make Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Chapman was Brian in The Life of Brian and this remains one of the best examples of the Python group working in feature films.