Absolutely Anything (2015)

A group of eccentric aliens confer a human being with the power to do absolutely anything, as an experiment.

Director:

Terry Jones

Writers:

Terry Jones (screenplay), Gavin Scott (screenplay)

Stars:

Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Pegg	...	Neil
Kate Beckinsale	...	Catherine
Sanjeev Bhaskar	...	Ray
Rob Riggle	...	Grant
Robert Bathurst	...	James Cleverill
Eddie Izzard	...	Headmaster
Joanna Lumley	...	Fenella
Marianne Oldham	...	Rosie
Emma Pierson	...	Miss Pringle
Meera Syal	...	Fiona
Mojo	...	Dennis the Dog
Robin Williams	...	Dennis the Dog (voice)
John Cleese	...	Chief Alien (voice)
Terry Gilliam	...	Nasty Alien (voice)
Eric Idle	...	Salubrious Gat (voice)

Storyline

Some aliens, who travel from planet to planet to see what kind of species inhabit them, come to Earth. And if humans are, according to their standards, decent, they are welcomed to be their friend. And if not the planet is destroyed. To find out, they choose one inhabitant and give that person the power to do whatever he/she wants. And they choose Neil Clarke, a teacher who teaches the special kids. He is constantly being berated by the headmaster and is attracted to his neighbor, Catherine, but doesn't have the guts to approach her. But now he can do anything he wants but has to be careful.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | teacher | whiskey bottle | whiskey | big ears | 

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Taglines:

With great power comes total irresponsibility.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, and brief nudity.

Details

Official Sites:

Absolutely Anything Official Site

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 May 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Absolutamente todo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bill and Ben Productions,GFM films,Premiere Picture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Benedict Cumberbatch and Gemma Arterton were originally cast as Neil and Catherine.

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Goofs

When Neil spills the whiskey into the sink, the contents of the sink look different between the close-up and the long shots.

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Quotes

Neil Clarke: I could solve every problem in the world!
Dennis: Have you thought this thing through?

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Crazy Credits

"DISCLAIMER: and yes we do know that the NASA footage of the Pioneer Rocket taking off is actually the Apollo Rockets, thank you"

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Alternate Versions

The British theatrical version reduced the uses of strong language in order to obtain a '12A' rating by the BBFC, and was also released on DVD. The Blu-ray release is uncut and has a '15' rating.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Absolutely Anything/The Bad Education Movie (2015)

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Soundtracks

Absolutely Anything and Anything at All
Performed by Kylie Minogue
Written by John Greswell / Christopher Taylor
Produced by Dreamtrak / Menlo Park
Published by MPM London Ltd

User Reviews

A story you'd expect from Douglas Adams

8.25 of 10. Amusing, alien-based soft-science fiction. Not as intricate as Douglas Adams' classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or its 2005 adaptation, but delivers in almost every other way. It's too bad it wasn't developed a little more and made into a longer film.

Besides Simon Pegg being the ideal pick for the lead character, Robin Williams doing another post-death cameo as the voice of a dog character - speaking, thinking animals being another favorite of Adams - adds a lot of fun and post-film credits enjoyment to a story about humans getting in the way of our alien overlords.

More than just comedy or sci-fi-light, there's some excellent satire, subtexts, and recursive comprehension built into the film, making it one of the rare alien, animal-speaking films that are almost believable.