This film is something I wanted to see quite some time ago, and then never did. But recently I ran across it, and so, I decided to watch Mortdecai and discover what shenanigans it may have in store.
Mortdecai (2015) Film Review
Finances are a little tight for Lord Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp). This is why he’s in Hong Kong trying to broker a deal with a shady businessman. When things don’t go as planned, Mortdecai returns home with his manservant (Paul Bettany) coincidentally just as his beloved wife, Joanna (Gwyneth Paltrow) also returns from her travels. Upon her return, she discovers that Charlie has not only done nothing to help their finances, she also finds her husband sporting a mustache. In no uncertain terms, she tells him this “thing” must go. When he refuses, Charlie is banished to the spare bedroom.
Though their tiff remains, their fortunes change when their Mi5 school friend Martland (Ewan McGregor) appears in need of Mortdecai’s underground contacts and help to track down a priceless painting. Trouble is Martland is also hopelessly in love with Joanna, and Mortdecai has more than one nefarious bad guy after him.
This film released several years ago; I distinctly remember seeing the trailer and being amused. But the R-rating it’s slapped on it deterred me from seeing it; I’m not a movie goer who likes crude humor to pepper a script. Now, years later, a PG-13 edit came up. Needless to say, remembering my interest, I decided to give the film a chance. With its recognizable stars, and fun almost caper-esque feeling, this had promise to be quite good.
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To be honest, the film isn’t quite as funny as I hoped, but it’s an enjoyable film nonetheless. The plot does have some laughs, and mostly the characters keep us interested. This is true of Depp’s titular character as he’s always playing the half-crazy kind of characters we never seem to grow tired of. Here he is again fabulous as the reckless Mortdecai, a dude who never seems to know what he’s doing. Despite always hearing it said his manservant is the “simple” one, it ends up being him who saves him each time. The entire cast is good, and it’s such fun to see Gwyneth Paltrow in something considering apart from multiple re-watches of Miramax’s 90s version of Emma, I’ve seen her in very little.
If you’re looking for a few laughs, and you like British humor (their comedies are different), then Mortdecai is fun. There’s a kind of jet-setting premise as the characters go from one continent to another in pursuit of a painting, and for some, in pursuit of another. In the end, the film is a fun time adventure. It’s not perfect, but the idea of it, plus the cast makes it a good time.
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Content: There’s sexual innuendo, and some crude jokes. Bettany’s character name is “Jock” as a kind of joke; he also has many sexual conquests [we hear him and his partner next door making love]. The original film is R, but there is a PG-13 edit. [You can see some of the mismatching of lips when dialogue edits were made for PG-13.]
Photos: Lionsgate
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