Fierce Creatures

First off, this "long-awaited sequel" to A Fish Called Wanda is not really a sequel at all. Apart from the original cast, Fierce Creatures has little in common with the 1988 smash -- the most obvious difference being that A Fish Called Wanda was very funny and Fierce Creatures is not.

When an English zoo is acquired by vulgar Aussie media mogul Rod McCain (Kevin Kline), it soon finds itself subject to the callous imperatives of the market. The jittery zookeeper, Rollo Lee (John Cleese), accordingly resolves to stock the zoo with nothing but fierce creatures, thus satisfying the public's appetite for sensationalism and McCain's desire to make money. When sexy business wiz Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis) and McCain's horny, inept son Vince (Kevin Kline again) arrive on the scene to run the show, the stage is set for a host of boob jokes, fart jokes, and capitalist excess slapstick.

There are some funny moments (particularly when the keepers vainly attempt to make their innocuous animals appear menacing), and the four Wanda originals put in good performances (though Cleese seems engaged in a constant battle to keep Basil Fawlty at bay), but the film adds up to less than the sum of its parts. It seems strained, perhaps because of its uneasy alliance of satire and farce, perhaps because the Concept is so transparent. Either way, Fierce Creatures is a lot feebler than its title suggests. At the Copley Place, the Fresh Pond, and the Circle and in the suburbs.

-- Chris Wright