Stiff Upper Lips (1997) User Reviews

No body can lampoon the Brits like the Brits.

[=G= · 7/10 · 17 February 2001]

"Stiff Upper Lips" pokes fun at the crustiness of the British upper crust as it follows a silly ensemble of aristocrats from England to Italy to India and back. Those who groan at puns and mutter "humph!" at wry humor will likely enjoy "SUL" while those who don't will suffer the opposite reaction. How enjoyable this film is will depend solely on the sense of humor of the viewer. Funny or not, "SUL" is undeniably a jolly well done spoof.

Even if you adore Merchand & Ivory, as I do, you will laugh over this fun-filled parody

[inkblot11 · 7/10 · 31 January 2008]

Emily (Georgina Cates), a lovely young British blueblood, lives with her stuffy Aunt Agnes (Prunella Scales) in a beautiful mansion. Her brother, Edward (Samuel West) is bringing home a college friend, Cedric (Robert Portal) in hopes that he may be a good match for Emily. However, although Cedric can quote Homer and dresses meticulously, he is a snob who criticizes nearly everything, including the cucumber sandwiches Aunt Agnes serves for lunch. That, of course, may be the fault of Agnes butler, Hudson, for he is the only servant-cook-bottlewasher in the whole house, and he is too busy to worry about whether the cucumbers are sliced thinly enough. In any case, Emily doesn't really warm up to Cedric but does become quite heated when George (Sean Pertwee), the local poor boy, rescues her from a near-drowning. Emily gets a bad cold from her ordeal and Aunt Agnes decides to take everyone to sunny Italy, including George in the capacity of a servant. Nothing could please Hudson more, as he will have the time to actually sit down and rest. But, will Emily and George be able to hide their budding attraction in such a romantic venue? And, does Cedric have his eye on someone, too? This film is great fun, especially for those, like myself, who adore Merchant & Ivory, David Lean, and others. It sends up such films as A Room with a View, Chariots of Fire, and A Passage to India in a most amusing way. For example, Edward manages to trip the runners at Cambridge, who are attempting to beat the clock in a race around the school's courtyard, while Emily needs a horse, pulling a rope, to get her into her corset. Fun, fun, fun. The cast is truly great, with Peter Ustinov adding to the amusement as a tea plantation owner. West, as some may know, played the unfortunate clerk in Howard's End and it is wonderful to see him getting a chance to smile, for a change. Cates is lovely, Scales a stitch, and Portal's imitation of Daniel Day-Lewis's character in Room with a View is priceless. The scenery is also gorgeous, the costumes very fine, and the production values quite high. All in all, even if you have never seen a Merchant-Ivory or David Lean film, you will still find this an entertaining film. But, if you are a true fan of distinguished British cinema, you will vastly enjoy the opportunity to laugh at this worthy parody.

Hilarious lambasting of Merchant-Ivory style films.

[ghicks-2 · 6/10 · 22 November 2000]

For anyone who has seen Howards End, Enchanted April, A Passage to India, Carrington, and especially A Room with a View, this is a side-splitter. Though aiming mostly at Merchant-Ivory films, this piece takes on that entire category of films centered on the lives and loves of stuffy late-Victorian and Edwardian Brits of the upper class. Some of the gags are film specific like Edward opening his window in Rome to find a brick wall or character names like Reverend Dweeb. Others, like Emily's panicked flight through a hedge maze the size of closet are broader. I found the entire cast, especially Prunella Scales as Aunt Agnes, to be spot-on perfect. It helps that Scales and West (as Edward) were actually featured in Howards End. Peter Ustinov is also grand as batty Horace. Whether you love or hate this kind of movie, Stiff Upper Lips is a kick.

One of the funniest films I have ever seen

[Karmapolice · 6 December 2000]

I saw this film twice in the first week it came out. This was just as well, as it closed after a week, as nobody else saw it apart from me and a friend. I think that, apart from its DVD availability, it is just about unseen. This is what I would call 'a pity'.

Stiff Upper Lips has, especially in the first half, so many spot on gags that it becomes almost abstract. Death in Venice? Yes. Chariots of Fire? Yes. Maurice? Yes. Every Merchant Ivory film? You bet. And all these jokes are funny. Imagine Airplane, remade in Britain, with better jokes.

And the performances are spot on as well. Peter Ustinov is amusing as a slave trading plantation owner, Georgina Cates is fun as the 'heroine', who spends most of the film whinging, but the honours go to Robert Portal and Samuel West, in a pair of the funniest performances of all time. Every nuance, every line is finely judged. (Is that Forster you're reading? Yes, but I only read him for the landscapes.) Buy a DVD player, get this film, and enjoy.

Stiff Upper Lips

[henry8-3 · 6/10 · 26 July 2020]

Lampoon of Jane Austen etc. A young girl must get married and is torn between the stuck up suitor her Aunt wishes her to marry and a local working boy who sets her pulse racing.

Enjoyable silly farce poking fun at Room with a View etc with Scales and real son West the most fun. It is funnier in the first half than the second where it sometimes strays away from the silliness, but on the whole an enjoyable farce.

Clever and witty.

[adamjohns-42575 · 6/10 · 8 October 2022]

Stiff Upper Lips (1997) -

My first thoughts of this film were that it was sniggerable, but more of a farce than what I would call a comedy, but after a while I really got in to it and could appreciate the style that they were going for.

The exact parodies and some of the sillier bits, like in the maze, did tickle me and once Peter Ustinov arrived on the scene, things only got better.

I might not have enjoyed the situations as much if I hadn't seen the films that were mocked though, but they certainly did get a lot in.

I'm actually sure that it rates higher than most of the films that it takes the pi$$ out of.

It was as if 'Carry On' had taken over the Merchant Ivory studios for a week and in a lot of ways it worked.

I loved sexy Sean Pertwee and the dim witted character, Edward, played by Samuel West was brilliant. They must also have employed every hot Italian actor they could find for the scenes filmed there. I didn't know where to look first.

Ustinov was superb and will always be rated very highly by me and Prunella with a more dry contribution to the humour did a grand job too.

It was a slow burner, but I really enjoyed it in the end. It was probably made in homage to the poor boyfriends that have had to endure drippy period dramas one after another, but I think that anyone could enjoy it in its own right, more so if they have suffered through the various films that were mimicked though.

638.91/1000.

Embarrassingly Awful

[crumpytv · 2/10 · 5 April 2021]

This couldn't make up its mind as to whether it was a bawdy romp or a serious parody. In the end it failed on both counts.

Mucky playground humour belongs .... in the playground, not used as an attempt to liven up a failing script.

Lighten up.

[paulcreeden · 8/10 · 20 November 2000]

This film kept me laughing all the way. Prunella Scales alone cracked me up totally! The Bonham-Carter parody was indeed weak. That was a pity, since she is the crown princess of Merchant-Ivory Land. Samuel West was brilliant at mocking the characters he DIDN'T play in the real Merchant-Ivory pieces. His fan scene with friend was fabulous. Ustinov didn't try very hard, as usual in his later career. But, as a Merchant-Ivory junky, I have to say that I was delighted at the opportunity to laugh at myself for being such a sucker for their formula. If you watch this film, you must be prepared to lighten up, or else it will be wasted on you.

"Have you been drinking the water?"

[richardchatten · 3/10 · 20 November 2022]

Merchant-Ivory has long been the subject of parody (not to mention 'Chariots of Fire' and 'Death in Venice', which both also come in for a ribbing), but this load of old nonsense is just plain silly. Given Ismail Merchant's notorious parsimony more money was probably spent on this that on the originals (the producers going to all the expense of filming in Italy and India when the money who have been better spent on a decent script).

It's outstayed it's welcome long before Peter Ustinov finally appears, and he certainly doesn't justify the wait. But Prunella Scales enters into the spirit of the thing and gets the odd amusing line like "A lady should never discuss the weather with a potential husband" and professes a liking for the novels of 'Miss Cartland'. Other pleasures include Robert Portal as a closeted pseud fondly imagining he's quoting Homer, the eccentric use of back projection in the initial train sequence and the incredible sound of Handel performed on a sitar.

What a carry on!

[starbug1-1 · 9/10 · 19 November 2003]

This film is a glorious tribute to so many 'stiff' period pieces as well as such comedies as 'Carry on up the Kyber'. It is also beautiful to watch with real locations used in the UK, Italy and India (rather than at the back of Shepperton studios).

While the plot may lag in some places, the references and in-jokes are so dense that you can blink and miss many of them.

The list of movies and television series that are lampooned is massive, but a few include 'Chariots of Fire', 'Brideshead Revisited', anything with Helena Bonham-Carter, 'Upstairs Downstairs', 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Gandhi'.

Peter Ustinov (Horace) letches like Sid James, Prunella Scales (Aunt Agnes) stands her ground like Joan Sims, Sam West (Edward) bumbles like Charles Hawtree and Robert Portal (Cedric) sneers almost like Kenneth Williams. Sean Pertwee (George) saves the day a la Jim Dale and Georgina Cates (Emily) is feisty like Barbara Windsor etc. etc.

The scene where Cedric meets Aunt Agnes is priceless, if only for the 'Daughter of Zeus' gag.

'Stiff Upper Lips' is definitely worth seeing more than once.

Somewhat successful send-up of English period pieces

[apostate · 4/10 · 16 September 2000]

The parody has a long and glorious tradition. Some actors (Leslie Neilson) have made a career of such films. I had never seen an English parody of English films before, and if "Stiff Upper Lips" is typical of them, I probably won't want to watch another. From my perspective, the film presented an interesting dichotomy: Respected actors (Prunella Scales and Peter Ustinov), good location, nice camera work, expensive costuming... for an insipid piece of tripe. It was pretty easy to recognize the comic references to "Howards End" or "Room with a View" or "Chariots of Fire", but the references weren't funny. The people weren't funny. The comic timing was poor. The running joke of English class prejudice was clumsy and poorly executed.

I think this film attempted something noble, but just plain failed in a few key areas. It had a lot of potential... the writers and director should watch a few classics in the genre (Blazing Saddles, Hot Shots, Loaded Weapon 1) before attempting their next parody.

All that being said, I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and say my American sensibilities may have gotten in the way of understanding the "English" humor. But I have a sneaking suspicion people back in the UK questioned the quality of this one, as well.

Hilarious romp

[aberlour36 · 9 December 2001]

This is a hilarious film designed to appeal to Anglophiles, particularly those who enjoyed Fawlty Towers and Monty Python. It is a takeoff on all those wearisome and often thought-provoking Masterpiece Theater films many of us know well. Only the British themselves could have made such glorious fun of this genre. I would give this the highest rating possible.

A little too silly for me - 'Carry On Costume Dramas'

[Janet1612 · 1/10 · 19 May 2020]

For those of you like the later Carry On films, Benny Hill, Up Pompeii and the likes, then this is for you. I say later Carry On films, as the earlier ones were actually funny, and then the smutty humour was introduced.

I was hoping for Stiff Upper Lips to be funny, and to enjoy it (anything with Prunella Scales in is usually great), Peter Ustinov, Frank Finlay, Brian Glover, how can they go wrong?

There is one laugh out loud scene, and one funny, if crude (drinking from the fountain in Italy, and I see people have posted some ''funny' lines on this site. For me, it just tries to hard with every line an attempt at comedy. It's really very much oooo missus and naughty seaside postcard humour; school-boy humour, rather than witty and clever. Victoria Wood gave us much funnier and hilarious parodies or send-ups of the costume drama.

Seeing the credits roll, I was surprised they actually filmed in Italy and India as the towns looked like sets.

God, but this was funny!

[intervamp · 10/10 · 29 January 2001]

I have always admired the way Merchant/Ivory films have had at their core a sort of droll humour that has come through and made me smile. This movie has taken every little bit that had made me crack a smile during the "serious" Merchant/Ivory productions and made me smile and laugh so much my cheeks hurt by the end of the movie. There are so many sight gags that I couldn't keep track of them all, and the ones I did see were enough for me to recommend this movie. Here's a little hint, just before George rescues Emily from drowning, take a look at what he's carving, maybe that's why he was little too eager to divest himself of his clothes. Don't get me wrong, I loved Howards End and Room with a view, but I also loved The Naked Gun and Airplane as well, this is the perfect hybrid of the two genres. The acting isn't in the least bit Hammy, the actors play it straight the whole way through, which is what makes this so funny, Samuel West probably being the best thing about this movie. His brainless upperclass twit played to perfection makes this a good movie for Masterpiece theatre watchers with a sense of humour.

Watch the preview and laugh, watch the film and cry

[sgodrich · 3/10 · 13 June 2011]

I went to see this movie when it came into the cinema in 1998. The preview was gut-bustingly funny. What was shown had to be the funniest film to come out in a long time. I eagerly awaited the release date, rushed down to the cinema and watched 94 minutes of the worst cinema I've ever had to see. Quite literally every funny moment was in the preview.

Although the story in itself was quite amusing, I felt completely cheated by the promise not meeting the actuality. Maybe the film is worth a couple more stars but after what happened, I can't bring myself to award higher than a 3.

Hilarious British Period Film Spoof

[CyberSuze · 8/10 · 9 August 2001]

Based on the title of this movie, I expected it to be a droll British comedy. Instead it was a laugh out-loud spoof of such films as A Room With A View, A Passage To India, Sense And Sensibility and others in that vein. I must admit that once I caught onto the joke it didn't seem quite as funny as it was at the beginning, but it was still one of the most amusing films I've seen in quite awhile.

If you like British period movies and British humor, I highly recommend this one.

An unfunny spoof

[malcolmgsw · 4/10 · 9 June 2021]

This. May have been funnier at the time of its release but not it comes across as rather stilted and lacking in real wit. The fine cast are let down by a lacklustre script. Too many of the gags fall flat.

Quite simply funnier than any American film will ever be!

[fab77 · 10/10 · 25 August 2000]

Stiff Upper Lips is an incredibly funny spoof on Britain at the turn of the last century. The humour is very British (therefore some Americans may not understand it), and had people rolling in the aisles the time I saw it in 1998. However, the British humour meant that there was an immense lack of American backing. Over a year after the film was withdrawn in the UK, it was shown in the US - for about a week. Reviews about its "lack" of "humor" were largely based around American misunderstandings - in particular, Prunella Scale's wonderful line, which (roughly translated for our American readers) asked all American tourists to go home and stay home, was probably not received all that well. However, I found its self-deprecating humour and jibes against just about everyone (it is not exactly politically correct, thank heavens) delightful, witty and superb. The acting, as should be expected from Scales and Ustinov, was superb. The opening sketch involving a corset, a horse and a beautiful young maiden set the whole film off perfectly. This is zany comedy at its best. Will somebody please release it on video in Britain?!

Some top gags in overlooked gem

[martinmakepeace · 9/10 · 14 March 2001]

This spoof of the classic EM Forster adaptations that were all the rage a few years ago rattles along nicely, with some nicely-turned humour. Most of the actors understand that this sort of thing needs to be underplayed, but Ustinov for one goes piling over the top in time-honoured fashion.

A good-looking harmless bit of fun which should have got more attention than it did.

Hilarious romp

[aberlour36 · 9 December 2001]

This is a hilarious film designed to appeal to Anglophiles, particularly those who enjoyed Fawlty Towers and Monty Python. It is a takeoff on all those wearisome and often thought-provoking Masterpiece Theater films many of us know well. Only the British themselves could have made such glorious fun of this genre. Five stars.

Hilarious British Period Film Spoof

[CyberSuze · 8/10 · 9 August 2001]

Based on the title of this movie, I expected it to be a droll British comedy. Instead it was a laugh out-loud spoof of such films as A Room With A View, A Passage To India, Sense And Sensibility and many others in that vein. I must admit that once I caught onto the joke it didn't seem quite as funny as it was at the beginning, but it was still one of the most amusing films I've seen in quite awhile.

If you like British period movies and British humor, I highly recommend this one.

Wonderful spoof of British films!

[pip-17 · 9/10 · 19 November 2000]

I love a good parody, and this movie is right on the money! I am an American, and I've enjoyed many British films over the years, particularly Merchant-Ivory fare. I was so (pleasantly) surprised to find that the Brits made such a clever, funny film, and I thought the running gag of the 'typical' American tourist couple, very witty and on target, too! I saw this on Masterpiece Theater, of all things, and I have seldom laughed so hard at anything on PBS since Jeeves and Wooster. What a great movie, I just wish it had more of a theatrical release in America, but I'm not surprised that it didn't. I don't think many Americans 'get' this type of humor anyway. It ranks up there with the best American parodies of genre films. Besides 'Howard's End', 'Room with a View', 'Passage to India', and Brideshead references, there were definite pokes at the Jane Austen-type of films, as well. Very worth renting and/or buying a copy!

Well Done But Scattershot Farce

[vox-sane · 21 November 2000]

I've seen all the Merchant/Ivory films since "Heat and Dust". I've been drawn to them by their usually top-drawer casts. Except for "A Room with a View" they are all unremittingly dull. Does anyone really _like_ "Maurice" or "Howard's End"?

It's about the time the puffed-up pretension of these movies was deflated. "Stiff Upper Lips" tries -- with throwaway passing blows at "Chariots of Fire", "Gandhi", "Upstairs Downstairs", and any other film reminiscent of Edwardian England.

It's a valiant try. Samuel West, one of the most promising young actors going, presents a very funny P.G. Wodehouse character stuck in an E. M. Forester world. Sean Pertwee comes off well, with what he's given. Oddly enough, it's the old hands, Peter Ustinov and Frank Finlay, who are most disappointing; Ustinov seems to have lost his timing with age, and Finlay is reduced to lavatorial humor in a character better played by Arthur Lowe in "The Ruling Class".

The film looks convincingly like Merchant/Ivory. It's a pretty movie. And many of the gags do work. The problem is -- and it's a basic problem -- that too many of the gags are telegraphed ahead. This isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes a movie can take on a conspiratorial air with the viewer, and the two are in a jolly unison.

Like Merchant/Ivory, this movie keeps its distance. The whole problem with M/I movies is that they're like paintings in a high-class gallery. You can look at them, but you can't get close to them. "Stiff Upper Lips" had to imitate this quality for a more perfect spoof, but in doing so lost its rapport with its audience.

The best antidote to E. M. Forster-based pretension is simply to read P.G. Wodehouse, an author whose characters take their world very seriously though their travail is based on one's fear of aunts or the love for one's pig. Taking a solid Wodehouse novel and giving it the M/I treatment might've been better -- except that M/I is obsessed with sex, which is the major part of this movie, and the major reason that it ultimately comes off as a tawdry farce rather than a witty one.

Very funny but you really have to know the period pieces it is making fun of

[ajrg54 · 10/10 · 3 October 2021]

This is a very funny movie and one of my favorites but you have to have seen the films they are spoofing. They are making fun of the class structure of EM Foster and his problems with homosexuallity. They are making fun of A Room with a View by Foster only in Rome not Florence with operatic music and the kiss. They are making fun of A Passage to India and of course Howard's End. In fact there is a lot they are making fun of from, the racism and sexism to the poverty in Victorian England. I am really into these period pieces but this one I love so much I bought it on VHS and then DVD.