The Hippopotamus (2017)

Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.

Director:

John Jencks

Writers:

Stephen Fry (based on the novel by), Blanche McIntyre

Stars:

Roger Allam, Tim Charles, Rod Glenn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Allam	...	Ted Wallace
Tim Charles	...	Saturninus
Rod Glenn	...	Bassianus
Amanda Holt	...	Beatrice Quiet
Amy Marchant	...	Nancy Chunkle
Adrian Bouchet	...	Marcus Andronicus
Simon Markey	...	Ally Pecher
Claire Lacey	...	Anita Hare
Andrew Alexander	...	Matthew Lake
Russell Tovey	...	Rupert Keynes
Paul Bown	...	Roddy (as Paul Brown)
Emily Berrington	...	Jane Swann
Dean Ridge	...	Simon Logan
Thaila Zucchi	...	Mrs. Vance
Fiona Shaw	...	Anne Logan

Storyline

A country manor mystery that's actually a deliciously wicked comedy of manners, The Hippopotamus is a rollicking adaptation of the best-selling novel by Stephen Fry. It centers on a lapsed poet, failed drama critic, redundant husband and hard-working drunk, Ted Wallace (the mellifluously voiced Roger Allam in a rare starring role). Fired from his newspaper job, Ted leaps at the chance to drown his sorrows at his old friend's country estate, Swafford Hall. A series of spiritual healings have recently put the household in a tizzy. The purported miracle worker is his hosts' teenage son, Ted's godson, David (Tommy Knight). Lord and Lady Logan are set on sharing their boy's "gift" with the world, blissfully unaware that his "laying on of hands" trick involves, well, an emphasis on "laying." At odds with a colorful party of fellow guests only too ready to swallow anything they're told, Ted sets out to prove the miracles are a hoax and save the young man from a lifetime of embarrassment.

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Plot Keywords:

disgrace | manor | investigation | old friend | miracle | 

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Taglines:

A beast of a comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

A víziló

Filming Locations:

West Wycombe House, West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Electric Shadow Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie contains three Game of Thrones (2011) cast members, including Roger Allam, Tim McInnerny and Sebastian Croft.

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Quotes

Ted Wallace: Feeling like twelve types of dick, I was suddenly struck by an image of David sprouting wings and flying away. Certainly that would be a miracle worth investigating.

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Soundtracks

When It's Sleepy Time Down South
Written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René
Performed by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra
Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd and Shapiro Bernstein & Co Ltd
on behalf of Leon Rene Publications and Otis Rene Publications
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under License from Universal Music Operations Ltd

User Reviews

Tedious waste of time

The pompous arrogance and traits of Stephen Fry come blaring through at you this entire movie. The verbose lavatorial narrative was actually quite wearying and excessive to the point that it became irritating. The attempted 'humour' was dull and boring, I don't believe I was brought to laughter once. Fry's own slanted view of women and sex is brash to say the least, along with weak characters and dialogue, dare I go on..

Honestly, I was expecting to sit down and watch an entertaining British comedy however was sorely unimpressed.