'Yellowbeard' Review

Synopsis:
Captain Yellowbeard may well be the most feared pirate of all time, on his way to a career unmatched by any when he is captured by the British and convicted of tax evasion. He survives his 20 year sentence but escapes immediately upon being told that his sentence is being extended, all part of the plan to get Yellowbeard to reveal the location of the treasure he hid before his capture. The British government, former crew mates, the Spanish from which he pillaged the treasure, all chase after Yellowbeard and his team. Who will end up with the treasure in the end? Just remember, a Yellowbeard's never so dangerous as when he's dead!

Thoughts:
Over the years, I've read many opinions of this film, most of which express disappointment. This is understandable. The cast is a 'who's who' of comedy geniuses from the 60's and 70's: Graham Chapman, Cheech and Chong, Peter Cook, Eric Idle, Peter Boyle, Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Nigel Planer, Madeline Kahn, and Marty Feldman, who died just after finishing filming his role. It should be a laugh riot from beginning to end. It's not really. A lot of the humour expressed is subtle, leaving stretches of time for giggling rather than guffawing. I think people over the years have expected this to be a pirate version of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and it's not.

I do feel it's funnier than people have reported it to be over the years. Yesterday was the second or third time I've seen the movie but it's been years since I watched my ropey, edited, pan and scan, taped from TV copy of the movie. Since that last viewing, I've gotten and read a book about the film. Last night I watched a crisp, colorful, letterboxed, DVD copy of the movie. I knew more what to expect going in to the film this time than I did before. It's better than I expected and not at the same time.

Graham Chapman's Yellowbeard character needs to motivate this film, to take charge of it, and he does. He's a crazed man of action that can be barely reasoned with when necessary. Everything revolves around Yellowbeard. The problem is that, when Yellowbeard is not on the screen, the energy immediately flags. This is necessary, to give us a break, but also makes things feel boring when it shouldn't. It's not unlike the boredom some feel when Captain Jack Sparrow isn't on screen in the 'Pirates of the Carribean' movies, if Jack was nigh-invulnerable and was threating to rape Keira Knightley every five minutes.

I have to compare pirate movies as they are all the same in a lot of ways, aren't they? There's a treasure, there's a trip by ship, there's a sword fight or three, ship fight, and a primary pirate. Everything else is bonus.

The story plays out like a parody of 'Treasure Island'. You get the pirate, a young man, a scientist/doctor type, and an older man as the main crew. The pirate's on the side of the 'goody guys' but isn't to be trusted. They go looking for a treasure. Others chase them. Lather, rinse, repeat. If Disney had made a Pirates movie in the 60s, this would be a parody of that as well.

Like 'The Holy Grail' certain historical details are more accurate than the average period film of the time. The jail that Yellowbeard is imprisoned in is an example of this as is the expectation that no one would survive 20 years in one.

The failing of the film is that there are so many comics in it. Not everyone gets to be funny, to build a strange comic character, as the film doesn't break the pirate movie format enough. It's too much parody and not enough original. Peter Cook stands out as the primary example of this problem. He plays the drunken Lord in the 'older man' role of the crew. While he stays in this mumbling, bumbling role very well over the course of the film, he doesn't get to do much of anything. He has one bright moment of Peter Cook like comedy about mid-way through the film and then burbles again. It's not that he does nothing, he just doesn't get to do enough.

On the plus side, a lot of the subtle comedy is fun once one stops being disappointed that Yellowbeard isn't headbutting someone into oblivion. Spike Milligan has the briefest of cameos but he spends the whole time being normal crazed Spike Milligan. It made me laugh.

I remember the movie feeling very uneven but I didn't get that feeling watching it this time. I also remember Yellowbeard disappearing for half the film but I didn't feel that this time either.

Is it perfect? A forgotten, neglected gem? Not quite. Is it better than it's been received in the past? Yes, I believe so.

Recommended.