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Famed British comedian John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda) leads a hilarious ensemble in this bawdy military satire that is lethally funny (The New York Times)! The year is 1948, and Major Giles Flack (Cleese) has been ordered to organize a song-and-dance unit to entertain the beleaguered British troops in Southeast Asia. But while he's transforming the front line into a chorus line, his entertainers are being used as a cover operation to sell illegal arms to Malaysian guerillas!Will Major Flack's musical band of brothers be able to raise military morale while dodging bullets and shrapnel or will their show become the ultimate
Famed British comedian John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda) leads a hilarious ensemble in this bawdy military satire that is lethally funny (The New York Times)! The year is 1948, and Major Giles Flack (Cleese) has been ordered to organize a song-and-dance unit to entertain the beleaguered British troops in Southeast Asia. But while he's transforming the front line into a chorus line, his entertainers are being used as a cover operation to sell illegal arms to Malaysian guerillas!Will Major Flack's musical band of brothers be able to raise military morale while dodging bullets and shrapnel or will their show become the ultimate bomb?
Hey, troops, let's put on a show! Befuddled, uptight John Cleese reluctantly commands the Song and Dance Unit South East Asia, a motley troupe of barnstorming performers who dress in drag to entertain the commie-fighting British jungle troops in 1948 Malaysia. Based on the satirical stage revue by Peter Nichols (Georgy Girl), the oddball mix of Carry On farce, military buffoonery, and backstage shenanigans makes an awkward transition to the screen. Behind the double entendres and broad gay caricatures (especially Dennis Quilley, who embraces his flamboyance with gusto as the unit's musical director and star performer) rumbles a murky political satire of the British Empire in decline. The idea is better than the execution, but even as a curiosity it has its moments. Don't skip the credits--a musical reprise with Cleese's only song and dance: a gangly legged goof that draws upon his time with the Department of Silly Walks. --Sean Axmaker
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Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release date: 1 April 2003
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 9780792855156 UPC: 027616884527
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