Clockwise - Recht so, Mr. Stimpson

The most surprising things about this minor classic from the mid 80's are that it was director Christopher Morahan's first film since 1969, and Cleese's character is based on a real-life headmaster! John Cleese based the character on the head of his daughter's school, and I can tell you the real life head is just as delightfully nutty as Stimpson.

Time obsessed Mr Stimpton, head of an ordinary British state school finds himself chairman of the Headmasters Conference and has to get to Norwich to address their meeting. Everything goes wrong on the way, despite Stimpson's meticulous planning, and due to his obsessive nature he gets more and more frayed at the edges as things go wrong.

There are some great observations on human nature in a film which moves quick enough to keep you laughing but not so quick that you miss anything.

Not perhaps Cleese's very best work, but a minor classic nevertheless. Generally under-rated as most have already said. Chris Morahan went onto continue his film directors career with the excellent thriller "Paper Tiger" in 1990, among others.

I recall a review in the Washington Post when this film was in theater release. It said something like, "If you want to see the master at work, go see this film." I thought that was very fitting. If you like John Cleese's brand of comedy, it's on good display here.

In its way, the movie is a simple comedy of errors. Murphy's Law dogs Cleese everywhere he goes. Yet despite the great John Cleese reactions to the never-ending stream of challenges, his character never loses sight of his goals or his integrity. I think that juxtaposition is part of what makes the movie work. Despite all the humiliations and frustrations, the character never forgets that he's doing it all for the sake of his students and his school.

Anything featuring the immense talents of John Cleese is automatically worth seeing, and this eighties comedy is certainly no exception. Aside from the great john Cleese, this film benefits from a great number of other positives, including a finely worked script; that manages to stay realistic and down to Earth despite the highly unlikely nature of much of the plot, and the highly farcical nature of many of the events; which bode extremely well with the lead star, as Cleese finds himself in his element in the role of the strict headmaster. Indeed, the major reason why this film works so well is down to the former Monty Python star, as he blunders his way through the film and somehow manages to retain and air of authority while doing so. The comedy styling is one of "it can't get any worse!", and it continually does; as constantly punctual headteacher, Brian Stimpson, finds himself in a world of trouble after missing the train to Norwich, where he is set to make a speech to a meeting of the best headmasters in the country. After acquiring the services of one of his sixth form pupils, he gets back on track to Norwich; but not without a number of problems.

The comedy comes by way of both gags, and the plot itself, which always manages to garner a laugh or two due to its superbly silly nature. Cleese is joined by a number of British stars, who all do well in their respective roles. Sharon Maiden stands out as Cleese's travel companion for much of the film; and somehow manages to look cute despite a truly awful hairstyle. Smaller British stars such as Pete Walker's muse, Sheila Keith, Alison Steadman and Eastenders' John Bardon, who would go on to star as Jim Branning in said soap opera help to liven up the supporting cast. The film does feel typically eighties, but stays away from the more silly side of the decade's cinema and many of the jokes bend more towards the intellectual side. The film is in very good humour throughout, and therefore offers an enjoyable time for its audience. Seeing John Cleese deliver an assembly towards the start will no doubt remind anyone that was schooled in England of that time, and Clockwise does a very good job of presenting it's plot and setting. Overall, this film comes highly recommended to anyone that enjoys fun films.

A scrupulously punctual headmaster in an English comprehensive school sets off for the Headmaster's Conference to deliver a keynote speech. One little slip sees him boarding the wrong train, which leads to a chain of consequences conspiring to keep him from his goal. This is one of the finest farces I've ever seen brought to the screen, written naturally enough by theatre farce-meister Michael Frayn. The frenetic energy of John Cleese in his prime really lifts this above the norm, as he hitches a ride with a student, bumps into and kidnaps an ex-girlfriend and winds up naked in a monastery. The climactic scenes at the HMC amount to perhaps the finest pay-off seen in farce. This is, indeed, a historic moment.

A much underrated comedy detailing the collapse of a stern, disciplinarian headmaster during a chaotic journey to deliver a speech at a convention of snobbish educationists.

Cleese begins in a very restrained way and is watchable and funny as he gradually descends into anarchic despondency. The pathos as he finally delivers his speech, in an ill-fitting (stolen) tasteless outfit, surrounded by the detritus of his dreadful day, is genuinely moving as well as funny.

Best line, from Cleese, as yet another possible means of reaching his goal emerges: 'It's not the despair: I can cope with the despair. It's the HOPE - that's what's killing me.' Almost the perfect motto for Scotland football supporters, you might say.

Probably alone in the world, I rate this movie superior to the overly foul-mouthed and Americanised Fish Called Wanda. A host of grizzled British character actors, including the magnificent Alison Steadman, keep things going.

I wonder what happened to the sherry glasses?