The Magic Christian (1969)

[Festered]

"Grand is the name, and, uh - money is the game. Would you care to play?"


Raquel Welch whips a galley of topless slave-girls, Yul Brynner(in drag) sings to an uncomfortably befuddled Roman Polanski ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QitQrNRw6rE ), Laurence Harvey does an impromptu striptease on stage, as Hamlet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bXAj_-LAK4 ), Christopher Lee wanders about a luxury liner, looking completely lost in his Dracula garb, old ladies have fixations on war crime atrocities, boxers stop in mid-fight to neck and everybody has a price in this muddled surreal mess.

Peter Sellers is Sir Guy Grand(a grand guy), the richest man in the world, whose credo is that everybody has a breaking point where they would sell out. You just have to find it. Ringo Starr plays his adopted “son”, a hobo that Grand finds sleeping in a park. Together, they go out into the world to see just how far they can debase people for filthy lucre. Based on Terry Southern’s savagely funny satire, his book get’s turned into an awkward Python-esque magical mystery tour with bits by Wilfrid Hyde-White, Spike Milligan, Richard Attenborough, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ferdy Mayne, and Monty alumni John Cleese and Graham Chapman(who also helped with the script).
This is a film that is better in parts than as a whole. There are some true comedy gems like this weird scene on a train ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw_nOC_txgI ). But director Joseph McGrath seems to be plowing the same ground he’d(co-director) gone over in the equally so-so Casino Royale. And completely ignoring the source material. If ever there was justification for a remake, this would be the movie. And a nice film antidote to the Wall Street mentality.

It’s an enjoyable watch, just for the cameos and dry Brit humor, and there is that catchy song “ Come and Get It” ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIw26-YP96w ) by Badfinger. But I recommend reading the book to see how good it really could have been. Watch this with the equally meandering Candy.

Here’s the trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szpXshpuAso

[monster123]

I actually watched it and enjoyed it alot. Its definatly worth a watch.