Duca si nasce!

This movie starring former Pythons Idle and Cleese, as well as Rick Moranis and Catherine Zeta-Jones is an interesting little comedy about a baby English duke (Idle) who disappeared at birth and lost his inheritance to an American (Moranis). He doesn't learn about the mistake until he's 35, living with his adoptive Pakistani family, and working as a stockbroker for a large firm. Zeta-Jones is Moranis' pretty, golddigging fiance and Barbara Hershey plays the hysterical, widowed nymphomaniac "Duchess Mummy". John Cleese is a mad lawyer and it's clearly not his best work, but fans will like to see his face. Idle is not at his greatest either, but the plot is kinda neat and moves fairly quickly. This was before Zeta-Jones became the "Chicago" superstar she is today, but everyone will note her talent and latina-like beauty. I remember Rick Moranis best as the fabulous "Dark Helmet" in "Space Balls", but I enjoyed him as the nerdy, rollerblading, 10-year-old in a man's body in this one. You may be disappointed at seeing the comedy gods Idle and Cleese fall kind of flat, but give it at least a peek, for there are some quality scenes.

Eric Idle does his typical zany stuff as an heir to a castle trying to unseat a loopy American (Rick Moranis), who has taken the position. Some of the scenes in the movie really make you think "JESUS H. Christ!!!!!! I'M REALLY WATCHING THIS!!!!!!!" Probably the aspect that catches peoples' eyes the most nowadays is the presence of a very young Catherine Zeta-Jones; when we first saw the movie, we didn't know who she was. But whether or not that's the aspect of "Splitting Heirs" that most catches your eyes shouldn't be the point. The point is that it's a really funny movie. Whether it's Rick Moranis on the roller skates, Eric Idle getting caught with more than his pants down, or something else, you won't find this movie boring. Also starring Barbara Hershey and John Cleese.

I'm probably in the minority here... but I always preferred Eric Idle of the members of the Monty Python gang. The more talented writer, both in sketch material and song lyrics(to any other Python fan who appreciates those; Yes, Idle wrote and performed the main theme), the better facial expressions and acting. Naturally, when I found out that he had written and starred in a film of his own(though John Cleese does also have a role), I had to watch it. I don't believe I ever did get to watch this more than a few times, some years back, and then I didn't really go back to it until today. As much as I like Idle, I have to admit that this isn't up to the standards of most of the Pythons' movies or Flying Circus episodes. The basic idea is fun enough; I won't reveal it here, though, since it is an important plot point(and I urge anyone reading this to not read any of the cast credits on the main page... and if you've already done so, try your best to forget what you read). The plot certainly isn't brilliant, but it's quite funny, and makes for some highly comical situations. The pacing is actually fairly solid. I can't think of any point in the film where I was genuinely bored... in spite of knowing everything that would happen. The acting is all very good. The characters are quite well-written, though I guess few of them are particularly likable. The humor is quite black, and some will definitely be offended. I'm not fond of admitting it, but Cleese actually has some of the funniest moments of the entire film. He's not very prominently featured, but he is hilarious when he is on-screen. Moranis is about as tolerable as usual... I don't feel much neither for nor against him, but if you don't care for him, you won't like him in this, either. Idle gets to both under- and overplay, and his presence was definitely the selling point of the movie for me. All in all, some very funny moments, but only just enough to make it worth watching. I recommend it to huge fans of the Monty Python crew, in particular those fond of Idle and Cleese. 6/10

I was too young to see this 1993 British comedy (rated PG-13) when it was released, but saw it a couple times in 2005. Before seeing it, I knew it featured Eric Idle and John Cleese, both of Monty Python fame, as well as Canadian actor Rick Moranis, whom I knew best for his role as Bob McKenzie, one of the two stereotypical Canadian brothers, Bob & Doug McKenzie. Knowing about those three cast members, I was hoping for a funny movie. Around the beginning, I was getting disappointed, but eventually found that it got better. My second viewing wasn't much different from my first, but my third viewing, over three years later, was disappointing.

In the 1960's, the son of the 14th Duke of Bournemouth is born, and is his rightful heir. The boy's hippie parents accidentally lose him, and find a baby boy which is assumed to be him. However, it turns out that they had the wrong boy! Their son is adopted and raised as Tommy Patel by an Indian family in England, and has no clue that he is actually the rightful heir to the title of the Duke of Bournemouth until after he grows up! That title goes to an American named Henry Bullock, and it is after Tommy meets him that he gradually finds evidence indicating that he is not the rightful heir! Tommy talks to a lawyer named Raoul P. Shadgrind about this, and learns from him that it will be hard to claim the position while the current Duke is still alive, but it will be easier if Henry dies! With that in mind, determined to get back what he lost as a baby, Tommy begins to carry out assassination attempts on the false heir!

Even back when I was reasonably impressed with this movie, I realized that there were casting problems, with Barbara Hershey as Duchess Lucinda, the real mother of Tommy, played by Eric Idle. The problem with this is that Hershey is about five years younger than Idle, and I would say she looks even younger than that! Plus Idle plays a character who was born during the hippie era, even though Idle himself was born over twenty years before that era began! However, those major casting problems certainly don't completely ruin the film. The main problem with "Splitting Heirs" is that it simply isn't very funny. There were definitely times when I laughed during my third viewing, with the outcome of some of the assassination attempts, and I guess some occasional really funny lines, but there was not quite enough humour to satisfy. Duchess Lucinda can be a tad irritating, with her sex-obsessed ways, and it seems Hershey tries to be funny in this role, but doesn't succeed. There are some fairly lame gags involving her character. I think I realized this during my second viewing, but it seemed worse with my third. I guess that's because I didn't find enough to make up for it this time.

No, this movie isn't very long, but during my most recent viewing, it seemed like it was! I remembered not being so impressed around the beginning of the film before, so it didn't surprise me that I wasn't laughing much during the early part of the film this time, but unlike before, I didn't find that it ever really improved much as it went along! For the most part, the dullness continued. Whenever a really good gag came along, it didn't last long, and then the dullness would soon come back. Maybe "Splitting Heirs" is good for one or two viewings, but wears thin after that, or maybe I've changed a bit in three years. Well, whatever the reason is for my recent disappointment with this film, I'm clearly not alone, though I still don't hate it like some people do. For Monty Python fans, Eric Idle COULD make you laugh in this film, and so could John Cleese in his smaller part. As for Rick Moranis, of "SCTV" fame, I don't think his character in this film has ever really stood out to me. So, for Python fans, this movie, written by and starring Eric Idle, could be worth a try, but could also seriously disappoint you. In any case, your expectations definitely shouldn't be TOO high.

Well, this movie wasn't the worst I've ever seen...but it was far from the best. It was mildly amusing at times, and although the talent they collected for this film was great, the writing fell flat. Keep an eye out for some great Python-esque jokes, and Barbara Hershey is surprisingly convincing as a sex-crazed duchess, but the one real thing to keep an eye out for is the Hindu Dream Sequence. If you've ever seen the old Indian (Bollywood) version of the Mahabharata, be prepared to laugh your head off. The depiction brought back everything I thought as a kid when I first saw that movie. There were a few other jokes in there that only the British or South Asians would get, but if you're not in either of those categories (or not sufficiently familiar with either) these jokes will be lost on you. Rent this only if you're an insomniac or a die-hard fan of cheesy humour.