BLAME IT ON THE BELLBOY. Directed and written by Mark Herman; produced by Jennie Howarth and Steve Abbott for Hollywood Pictures. Starring Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Richard Griffiths, Penelope Wilton and Patsy Kensit. Rated PG-13.
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The bellboy really isn't to blame for this uninspired little farce. In fact, if the title character (played by the always amusing Bronson Pinchot) had been given more to do in the movie, it doubtless would have come off better.
As it is, though, a brief plot summary will sound much more entertaining than the movie actually is.
Three gentlemen check into a hotel in Venice (the choice of locale does make for charming background settings). Mr. Orton (Moore), Mr. Horton (Griffiths) and Mr. Lawton (Brown). Given Pinchot's imaginative pronunciation of the names, it's inevitable that their mail will all go astray.
Orton, sent to buy a villa, instead gets instructions meant for hitman Lawton, who thinks he's supposed to kill Horton's blind date. Horton, expecting the usual sort of blind date, is thrilled to be introduced to the gorgeous Caroline (Kensit) who is, of course, a real estate agent, not a vacationing secretary looking for romance.
That does sound rather amusing, doesn't it? And, to be fair, there are a few laughs here. But the overall spirit of the movie is rather listless and, what's worse, tasteless. There's some sadistic violence that's quite out of keeping with the comic tone one would expect from such a plot.
I suppose the writer/director was aiming for black humor (ads for Bellboy do compare it to A Fish Called Wanda, a masterpiece black comedy). But the aim was off; the movie's much too dark when it's dark, and not really very funny when it tries to be humorous.
March 25, 1992