Nice effects though.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Despite the promising premise and cast, I found the "The Hippopotamus" to be very disappointing. Much of the 'humour' came from Roger Allam's foul-mouthed muttering and yelling. A little bit goes a long way and (IMO) incessant profanity in a comedy is usually sign of a lacklustre script (like third-rate stand-up - if you're not funny, yell 'F---' a lot and hope for cheap laughs). The story, which finds Allam's obnoxious washed-up poet "investigating" claims of miraculous cures at a country estate starts off promisingly but then degenerates into a series of embarrassing sex-sight-gags. Given that this was based on a book by the talented Stephan Fry and included some fine British comic actors (e.g. Tim McInnerny was great in the Blackadder series), "The Hippopotamus" was a real let-down.

I was going to pass on this one based on the fact that I simply didn't find the title appealing, but when I read it was an adaptation from a book written by Stephen Fry, I simply had to watch it.I really enjoyed the film and the main character Ted Wallace played by Roger Allem is fantastic. As a foul mouthed, egotistical, pompous cynic he does an exceptional job. The rest of the cast is fair to good and though the its a fairly small number of characters, for the most part it works reasonably well. I would have liked to have read the book as I have a sneaking suspicion that this adaptation doesn't do it justice, which of course would be entirely understandable.Some of the characters, such as Madam Valerie and her daughter Clara, seem all to superfluous and present only in order to allow certain aspects of the plot to cone to fruition. As it stand their presence is thin and awkward, and highlights the lack of substance they have in the film. There are some issues with other characters but I'm nit picking so will leave it at that.I found it an entertaining 'whodunit' quintessentially British with as contemporary a feel as can be mustered in a great house of the rural English countryside. The script is pretty good if a tad odd and overdone in places, but nothing too serious. The direction and screenplay are also on par and the whole thing fits together quite nicely really. There was some slight discomfort in the progression of events. The most noticeable being the very sudden transition from disparaging cynic to disparaging mystery solver. It was all a bit 'Scooby Doo' in resolution and I can't help but feel some essential material that would have ensured a more natural feel ended up on the cutting room floor. in fact to be totally honest I get the feeling quite a lot of this one ended up there. Still, all in all its very good and quite enjoyable.I don't think for a moment this film will be for everyone, but for what it is, it's a pretty good piece. I definitely recommend it.

Was expecting so much better from R.Allam. His talent totally wasted on this putrefying portrayal of garbage. There is simply no rational need to offer "entertainment" of this caliber. If there is any motivation to try to influence an audience to accept nausea-inducing torridness along with cynicism about spiritual gifts it's failed miserably. Fry is allowing himself to be used by forces he doesn't understand.

A long time ago, our hero was a respected poet, but the muse has long ago abandoned him. Now he is a drunken theater critic whose high jinks, while amusing, are out of control and cost him his job.A young woman hires him to look into a miracle worker, who happens to be our hero's godson. While a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic, our man needs the money and take the job. It's also a trip to his past, and he has to cross bridges that were burned decades before.While the sum of the movie is much less than the sum of its parts, the parts are often quite witty. The lead is well played by the excellent Roger Allam.The movie was taken from a book by Stephen Fry, of "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster" fame.