In his attempt to fashion an epic satire from a Pythonesque collection of skits, director Kevin Billington deserves to be applauded for the scale of Michael Rimmer’s ambitiousness, which is on a par with that of its eponymous protagonist (Peter Cook), a shady ‘efficiency expert’ who comes out of nowhere to spin his way to the highest echelons of British politics. But where this sweeping vision doesn’t quite come off, Billington does construct an effective marriage of ‘old school’ comedy of the late sixties’ New Wave talent with supporting performers of the calibre of Arthur Lowe, Dennis Price and Ronald Fraser rubbing shoulders with Cook, John Cleese and even Harold Pinter. Produced by David Frost and co-scripted by Cleese and Graham Chapman, it was a brave stab at dragging the British comedy film up from its contemporary lowbrow stupor, several years before the Pythons themselves actually achieved it. And in its deliciously dark view of the system, it probably has more resonance at the end of the Blair era than it did during Harold Wilson’s time.
Starring the legendary comic Peter Cook (That Was The Week That Was, Bedazzled, The Black Adder) in the title role, The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer charts the career of the dangerously ambitious political advisor.
Written by, and starring, some of the best names in British satirical comedy including Peter Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman and also featuring an acting turn from playwright Harold Pinter, the film is strikingly relevant to the current period of British political era. Taking a subversive look at the road to political success, the film lampoons politicians and the suspiciously ambitious as Rimmer manipulates, cheats and murders his way to the top of his profession and eventually to the head of all government: President of Great Britain. His ‘charisma-heavy’, ‘policy-light’ style of leadership, through relentless opinion polls, referenda and underhand electoral practices, somehow wins the hearts of the nation – at the expense of the country.
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The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
