Three Men in a Boat

Free television adaptation of the work of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) written by Tom Stoppard, directed by Stephen Frears and featuring Tim Curry, Michael Palin and Stephen Moore, in the main roles.

A frankly interesting curiosity, not only because it reports on a boat trip on the Thames, from Kingston to Oxford, by three young men, at the end of the 19th century, but also because it features several notable talents, in front of and behind the camera, destined for fame and success.

Palin was already a star in 1975, due to his participation in the Monthy Python series, and Curry debuted, that same year, his most famous role, that of Transvestite, Transylvanian Transsexual, in the cult musical comedy, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Moore would have a long career in film and television, notably in the series Rock Follies or the war classic, A Bridge Too Far. Frears would be one of the most important British directors of his generation, nominated twice for an Oscar for best director (The Grifters and The Queen), winning an Emmy and three BAFTAs. Finally, screenwriter Tom Stoppard also had a hugely successful career, winning an Oscar in 1999 (The Passion of Shakespeare) and nominated for another (Brazil, by Terry Gilliam, another former Python).

With so many stars, this obscure work, made in 1975 for the BBC, gains increased and deserved interest.

The ironic and critical tone of British imperial high society, so Monty Python-like, dominates. But there is also the flavor of travel chronicles, of which Palin would be an excellent maker, through the series he made for the BBC, in which he traveled almost the entire world.

It is not a humor film, in the strictest sense, it is an ironic, critical, fun and elegant chronicle of an era, a culture, a civilization, decadent but brilliant.

A pleasant surprise.

Tim Curry, Michael Palin, and Stephen Moore are three Victorian men who are enervated by their strenuous life in London. They decide that a row up to Oxford and back is just the thing, despite the indifference of the dog. They set out, well caparisoned for anything that might arise, but not for anything that actually does.

Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay for this TV movie. In his own words, he had no idea of which bits were supposed to be funny. The result is an engaging idyll under the direction of Stephen Frears about the happy vagueness of younger sons of the middle class, intermingled with lovely shots of the upper Thames and various monuments to obscure people.

For a short TV movie, this has some impressive talent, with direction and writing from, respectively, Stephen Frears and Tom Stoppard, and a surprisingly low key performance from Tim Curry and good ones from Michael Palin and someone I've never heard of.

The book is apparently very popular in England, with a mix of humor, sentimentality and self mocking the English seem particular fond of, and the movie is clearly done by people who feel that fondness towards the source.

Like the book, there are parts that are quite amusing, and like the books, there are parts that are more travelogue. The balance is a little more toward the travelogue here, surprisingly, although these parts drag less in the movie than in the book.

It's a quiet, sly sort of humor and a charming, small, elegantly done movie. It's not as good as the book, but it's very enjoyable.

Tim Curry was the reason I wanted to see this, and he's hilarious in it, particularly in one scene where he reads a book about diseases and is convinced he has them all. The piece has a very droll quality and a light touch (courtesy of Frears' excellent direction). Well worth seeking out.

Trimming the story down to an hour inevitably misses someone's favourite bit, but the most popular scenes are retained - and a walk-on part added for Shelley. It seems odd that so many (American?) reviewers are unfamiliar with Stephen Moore, but the film was made a few years before he became the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android - the original radio cast were stunned to discover they had a stage actor of his eminence working with them.

The final voice-over, giving non-fictional information about "George" and "Harris", is taken from Chapter VI of Jerome's "My Life & Times", and its inclusion gives a downbeat ending which is perhaps Tom Stoppard's oddest decision.