opernerno8900 Review of Up Pompeii

Up Pompeii (1971)

Lively in a strangely sedate way, all the better for it

[10/10 · 20 April 2005]

This film quite simply says everything about Frankie Howard, helped by the way that it is basically him talking for a great deal of the film. the bawdiness level in this is simply outstanding, a veritable treat for anyone who feels like smirking at jokes about cucumbers and fountains with wine emanating from the member of a male statue via the manipulation of 'his' hand in the middle of a Roman orgy. The film doesn't really offer anything more than this, but then unless a lot of it has been lost the evidence shows it could never have been intended to provide any more. To say that there are acting performances in the film to criticise would be very unfair, what can be seen is that every individual aspect of the film works effortlessly to enhance the single theme, comical romping British style in Roman clothes. This it achieves wonderfully, exploiting old jokes and introducing a few new 'uns' whenever someone bothered to try. This stunning level of un-originality really is a charm, the gags are predictable and harmless but manage to sort of 'fall out' of the film as it potters along quite effectively and regularly with few lapses into 'boring farce' which wreck many similar offerings. If the film is approached sympathetically it will reward all the way until the final credits like no-other I have ever had the fortune to view.