The real fun here comes from watching Mr. Kline bounding through two archly good performances, Mr. Cleese coming hilariously unstrung in the presence of Ms. Curtis and all those adorable animals.
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It's still a lot of fun, and I welcome any film that keeps me entertained for nearly the entire running length.
70
Salon
Salon
Mostly smart enough to stick to pure farce and let its animals take care of their own rights. It's a charming diversion, and it treads lightly even when it has something weightier on its mind.
70
TimeRichard Schickel
TimeRichard Schickel
This good-natured movie is very much in the spirit of those ancient comedies from Ealing Film Studios in which nice, silly people defend some enclave of old-fashioned sanity against the forces of brute modernism. [27 January 1997, p. 68]
With this cast, you are guaranteed moments of inspired lunacy. It's still fun watching Cleese get caught with his pants down. But the material seems familiar and overworked.
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
SlateDavid Edelstein
Amounts to a pantheistic love-in: "A Fish Called Wanda" for vegetarians.