The Odd Job

As a Life long Python Fan, and minor Featured cast member in one of their films, I loved this superbly Written, Acted and Directed film, which I have only just seen for the first time, as of 30/6/2022, made in 1978 London, the Graham Chapman humour shines throughout, and so no true python fan, or lover of 1970's UK comedy films should be disappointed ,an excellent job by Cast and Crew in making a comedy as only Chapman could, especially the ending, typical Graham Chapman style, , so glad I found this, I rate it 10 out of 10, both for it's over all enjoyment factor, and out of Loyalty to a much loved Monty Python Member ,the amazing Graham Chapman, fine acting and a comic legend, who sadly died age 48,on 4th October 1989.

This is Graham Chapman's first solo film outside of his work with Monty Python. He stars, produces, and co-wrote the script with his only other frequent collaborator aside from John Cleese, Bernard McKenna (who co-wrote several of TV's "Doctor in the House" and "Yellowbeard" with Graham). It, unfortunately, became a rather doomed project and the end result is pleasant if not hilarious. The Odd Job man was originally to be played by Who drummer Keith Moon, who had to drop out due to commitments to the Who and because his drinking was quite out-of-control at that point. The original director was injured before shotting began and had to be replaced at the last moment. But, Chapman pushed forward. Moon was replaced by comic David Jason, who had appeared previously with Eric Idle, Terry Jones, & Michael Palin on the pre-Python TV show "Do Not Adjust Your Set." The film certainly not bad, but it's one-joke premise is stretched a little thin: Arthur Harris (Chapman) is jilted by his wife and, being too timid for suicide, hires an Odd Job man to kill him.

The wife, of course, returns and patches things up while Harris finds himself unable to reach the Odd job man out to kill him. Chapman's performance is suitably loony and energetic and the cast across the board is pretty good. But, somehow, it all seems lackluster. The film was never even given a theatrical release in the U.S. Too bad, because the film has it's moments and Graham, as all Python fans know, was a very funny, bizarre, intense performer and writer.

Graham Chapman returns home for his fifth anniversary, to discover that wife Diana Quick is leaving him. He's dull. After driving around half of London, she stays at mutual friend Tony Sloane's home. Chapman gets drunk. The next morning, Miss Quick calls, and he decides to commit suicide, but can't figure out how. That's when odd jobs man David Jason knocks on the door. They decide that he'll kill him unexpectedly over the next few days. Then Miss Quick returns and he changes his mind. Jason, however, does an honest bit of work, even though he keeps killing the wrong person. He keeps trying to off Chapman, though.

Comedians trying to kill themselves dates back at least to Max Linder in LE PENDU. The idea of hiring someone to kill yourself and then changing your mind at least to Jules Verne in LES TRIBULATIONS D'UN CHINOIS EN CHINE, which was made into a movie by de Broca starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. So this has a long lineage.

What will surprise people is that Chapman, despite his Monty Python roots, is not particularly funny. He is, as Miss Quick notes, dull, and his reactions to the situations are bizarre rather than funny. He is the center around which the comic characters circle, especially Jason, but also cops Edward Hardwicke, and an assemblage of mobsters hired to protect him from his would-be assassin. Still, there are plenty of things to laugh at in this black comedy.

Very, very funny. Graham Chapman and David Jason are an inspired team, considering the problems hauling this movie into production. Chapman plays Arthur Harris, who gets depressed when his wife (Diana Quick) leaves him for slimy Simon Williams, and engages the bizarre odd job man to dispatch him into the next world. Then his wife returns, and Arthur changes his mind ... cue a sequence of situations featuring Arthur's attempts to evade being killed by Jason, being pursued by cynical policemen Edward Hardwicke and Bill Paterson, gangster Michael Elphick (brilliant), and flirty neighbour Carolyn Seymour. The scene in the restaurant is class, with Chapman in a feeble disguise to allay suspicion, and also the trip to the zoo is hilarious. Then, just as the odd job man finally gets the message (having killed several people by mistake), there is the oddest ending...

As a solo venture, this outstrips all the others various Pythons took on. Chapman was always the funniest and most inspired of the team anyway, and this is a natural extension of that. Excellent.

Had good hopes for this 70s flick with Python's Chapman, but it's really not that good.

This was originally a short script and the filler shows. It rambles through unfunny situations and soon, to paraphrase Python, you feel like it goes on and on and on until you start foaming at the mouth and fall over backwards.

To be fair, there were lots of these B Brit films made in the 70s. This one tries to promote itself on Python's back, only there is nothing Pythonesque about it.

There's nothing funny about it either. Should be of interest only to die hard Python fans who want to see a second rate curio made during the height of Python's tenure.