Les Patterson Saves the World

Perhaps not our finest export, but definitely an 80s export, and ranking just ahead of Beavis and Butthead do America as my favorite dirty, gross-out movie of all time. This film is a rare little gem for all Patterson/Humphries fans, a must-have in the video cabinet of any collector. Humphries, true to his style, plays Australian diplomat and head of the Australian Cheese Board Sir Leslie Colin Patterson as well as the inimitable Dame Edna Everage, British Megastar. Involved is a plot to assassinate Sir Les, unleash a grotesque social disease with an even more grotesque name on the West by a Russian agent, and a coup in a financially and strategically important Middle Eastern country. Add Joan Rivers as the US President and you have the makings of a cult classic. But you need to be in the right mood! (Remember, Valium isn't a drug, it's a food, in tablet form!) I enjoyed the locations, filmed on location in Morocco and New York, giving the film an international feel even if it wasn't appreciated overseas. I guess you need to know Sir Les to appreciate this film, and likewise you have to like Sir Les to like it too.

I don't know what the problem is with some of IMDb's viewers. Maybe their sense of humor is atrophied, or maybe they're just a bunch of prisses. "Les Patterson" is one of my all-time favorite comedies, and the title character, played by the comic genius Barry Humphries, is earthy, lusty, memorable, and larger than life -- laughing-out-loud funny and raunchy but also endearing and in a certain way almost inspiring, with elements of Rabelais, Falstaff, and R. Crumb. (I'm told, unaccountably, that Humphries himself is none too proud of this film today; if that's the case, I'm mystified. Maybe he hasn't seen it in a while.) Try this movie for around 15 minutes; if that doesn't convince you, well, switch it off and go watch a sitcom.

P. S. Writing this in midsummer 2022, I just watched this film for the third or fourth time. (To my surprise, it's available on YouTube.) Afterward, checking Wiki, I discovered that Humphries is now 88 years old. That's extremely depressing news; he's a unique presence, and I hate to think about losing him. However, it appears that, at least as of last spring, he's still appearing onstage -- which is cheering.

I note with interest that one reviewer, Kmce, mentioned that this film was withdrawn shortly after release - this should make it all the more a collector's item and I'm glad I have a copy. Les Patterson is another fantastic satirical creation from Barry Humphries and fans will get plenty of him in this 98 minute movie. However, it appears that it was too ambitious of Humphries to make a Feature based on this character as the script needed radical reworking or rejection. Not that the individual gags aren't funny, because they are. In fact two years after the film when Humphries was back on stage, Sir Les Patterson made a reappearance as a 20 minute performance at the start of each show and was hilarious. This was released on video in the UK - as was the film - but they are probably both unavailable now. Us collectors must act fast!

Doctor Sir Leslie Colin Patterson KBE is one of the greatest comedy creations ever. Barry Humphries only rarely gives him an outing so it is a shame that this film is so average (or should that be everage ?). Perhaps he hoped for a greater appeal by including Dame Edna Everage but 'she' gets too much time. Nevertheless, this 'fillum' is still a very funny in places and is a must for all admirers of Sir Les.

Anyone who wants to see this character in full flow should track down the video or soundtrack of "Les Patterson has a stand-up" which was a live show in London in 1997. In 1985 Sir Les also wrote the funniest book ever - it's called "The Traveller's Tool".

Jeez. Where do you begin? Stupid overblown(i.e. not funny) plot, appalling garish 1980s-at-its-worst set design and general art direction, a script that needs major surgery and too much Dame Edna Everage. In its favour there is so little of the wonderful Sir Les Patterson on DVD that you have to take your pleasures where you can. He is up there with Ali G as one of the most un-PC comic characters ever created. To see him say, what so much of want to actually say - but have too much common sense to say, is a non-stop treat. If you do not like Sir Les Patterson then you will be better off sticking to a bumper edition of Friends.