Movie of the Week: Absolutely Anything

Alexa: Simon Pegg has made some great comedies, and he’s made his fair share that are instantly forgettable. “Absolutely Anything” definitely falls under the latter - entertaining enough while you’re watching it, but ultimately not funny or clever enough to leave a lasting impression. Yet it somehow assembled an incredible cast. Pegg is a charming lead as always. Eddie Izzard is a welcome presence, but underused. The Monty Python guys voice a bunch of aliens. Most notably, this is Robin Williams’ final film, and his Dennis the Dog is by far the most entertaining part of the movie. Its central premise about the consequences of unlimited power certainly has promise, and I always love a well-placed “Spaced” reference in Simon Pegg movies. But unfortunately “Absolutely Anything” just doesn’t live up to its potential. Its jokes don’t land. It wastes its talented cast on flimsy material. And it barely scratches the surface of its plot, so a story that could have some emotional resonance instead has nothing to say.

Joel: This film is notable for a few things. First of all it’s one of the final performances of Robin Williams released almost a year after his death. It’s also the first time that all the surviving members of Monty Python have appeared in the same movie in many, many years, and according to interviews with members of the group, will likely be the final time that it happens as well. It’s unfortunate that not only are both of these “final” performances minor voice roles with Robin Williams voicing the dog, and the Monty Python members voicing the counsel of supreme beings, but perhaps even worse, the movie as a whole is overwhelmingly middle of the road. Written and directed by Terry Jones, the movie isn’t enough of any one thing to feel like it has an actual point. It’s got hints of the earlier non sequitur feel of Terry Jones and Monty Python comedy, but not enough to really draw comparisons to their earlier works, just enough to make it feel like it clashes with other parts of the movie.

Other parts of the movie are painstakingly by the book in terms of plot and pacing. If you see the first ten minutes of the movie you’ll be able to come up with what the story beats for the next seventy-five minutes will be and you’ll be completely right. The only thing that really works is the constant willful misinterpretation of what Neil (Simon Pegg) is trying to do. It’s a clever enough recurring gag that even though it repeats several times throughout the movie it’s unique enough each time that it never feels like it’s getting old. But it’s a single highlight in what ends up being a mostly unmemorable movie.  There is far too much talent being put into this movie to line up with the quality that’s coming out.

Chris: It's strange how movie with such quirky features make so little of an impact on the audience. It was an enjoyable movie but I honestly can't imagine myself ever thinking of this movie again once I'm done writing this movie. It's a real shame because the talent that was made available to Absolutely Anything is staggering and yet the outcome was a movie whose story dealt with such broad strokes that it felt like nothing really was accomplished at all. It was a pleasant experience but it was utterly forgettable with the exception being Ray's line about not understanding how vulnerable it feels to be a sausage. That line got a chuckle out of me.

Jason: I wish this movie had been better than it was. I hadn’t even heard of it before I saw it on Netflix. When I checked it out, I saw that it had been devised by all of the living Monty Python guys and I was immediately interested. And with Simon Pegg starring on top of that! How could it fail? It had been nearly twenty years since Terry Jones directed anything and unfortunately, I think it shows. The story is disconnected and the humor, while there were some points that made me chuckle, most of it just didn’t hit the mark. At least not the Monty Python level mark. It wasn’t all bad, however. It could have really easily been a Bruce Almighty knock-off, and in places, it felt pretty similar. But the pedantic nature of the wish fulfillment added some spice that I appreciated. I don’t know, I really don’t have a lot to say about this one. It was entertaining while I watched it but now that it’s done, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it. I’m a bit disappointed, to be honest.