Absolutely Anything (2015)

A group of eccentric aliens confers 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 or she wants. And they choose Neil Clarke (Simon Pegg), a teacher who teaches the special kids. He is constantly being berated by the headmaster and is attracted to his neighbor, Catherine (Kate Beckinsale), 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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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer and Director Terry Jones said he was influenced by the H.G. Wells tale "The Man Who Could Work Miracles".

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Goofs

One of the council members criticises the lesser alien races for always being naked on their probes but as they themselves are naked they should not find this worthy of comment.

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Quotes

[on hearing the bell, Dennis gets excited]
Neil Clarke: Dennis, listen! Listen, listen, listen! Be quiet! That is an order!
Dennis: Right! Right! I like obeying orders, especially your orders!
Neil Clarke: Good. Then shut the fuck up!... Good boy.
Dennis: Okay... okay... shut the fuck up...

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, pictures of the film's story board are shown, as well as clips of Robin Williams recording a few of his lines.

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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

Referenced in Showreel: Well, That's Not Quite the End of That (2013)

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Soundtracks

Absolutely Anything
Written and performed by Roger Taylor
Recorded and mixed by Joshua Macrae (as Joshua J Macrae)
Licensed courtesy of Nightjar Productions Limited
Published by EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING

User Reviews

A simple, silly, but funny and enjoyable family movie.

What should I start with ? Oh, yes, I don't really get the mediocre score and reviews for this movie. Yeah, it's not another Holymollywood show (thank heavens!), it's not amazing in any way, but it does great at being a simple, enjoyable and funny movie to watch with your family. Both Simon Pegg and Kate are lovely to watch here.

You can just sit, relax and have a fun time. It clearly doesn't try to be smart or serious, people should understand this. There's also a tiny but nice message in it, that once understood, makes a better image of it all. If you enjoyed "Hector and the search for happiness", you should give this one a try. We need more movies like this!

Details

Official Sites:

Absolutely Anything Official Site

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

14 August 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Absolument tout

Box Office

Gross USA:

$20,169

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,303,792

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