Whoops Apocalypse (film)
| Whoops Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
|
UK DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Tom Bussmann |
| Produced by | Brian Eastman |
| Written by |
Andrew Marshall & David Renwick |
| Starring |
Loretta Swit Herbert Lom Peter Cook |
| Distributed by |
ITC Entertainment (UK) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA) |
Release dates |
1986 UK 1988 United States |
Running time | 93 min |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Whoops Apocalypse is a 1986 ITC Entertainment film, directed by Tom Bussmann. The film shares the same title as the TV series Whoops Apocalypse, but uses an almost completely different plot from the series.
Plot
The beginning of the film parodies the Falklands War when a small British colony is invaded by its neighbour, the fictional country of Maguadora, whose dictator General Mosquera is played by Herbert Lom. The new President of the United States, Barbara Adams, tried to sort out the mess (both countries are hard on communism) but the peace talks are sabotaged by Lacrobat (Michael Richards), the world's leading terrorist. The British, under the leadership of PM Sir Mortimer Chris, send in a task force to seize the islands back. For revenge Mosquera hires Lacrobat to kidnap the British Princess Wendy, in order to hold her to ransom to get the British out. Sir Mortimer then threatens that unless she is returned in 48 hours, he will release a nuclear strike. So now President Barbara Adams not only has to deal with Mosquera and Lacrobat, she must also deal with Sir Mortimer, and also with the fact that Mosqueara decides to align himself with Russia, and this whole thing could start World War III.
Loretta Swit is Barbara Adams, the first female president. She was only sworn in office when the previous president, an ex circus clown (a parody of Ronald Reagan's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini). As comical satire, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace is shown to be incompetent, especially when trying to handle questions from the press. Interestingly, we discover her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place.
The film also features Peter Cook playing Sir Mortimer, an insane conservative British Prime Minister (an insane PM being one of the few similarities between the film and the series), who claims that unemployment is caused by evil invisible pixies. Later, he hands out Union Flag umbrellas to Conservative voters to protect them from nuclear bombs, and plans to reduce unemployment by pushing employed people off of cliffs, creating new jobs. Despite the fact he is clearly insane, the public adore him and follow him blindly. The rest of his party attempt to assassinate him, but he only loses his hand, getting a hook instead. He then takes up a new policy of crucifying disloyal party members in Wembley Stadium.
Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity at the time. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong outfit. Featuring Rik Mayall playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS squad, most of whom are massacred in a shoot out in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy, who has been disguised as an exhibit. Rik Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player. Michael Richards plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the war between the two countries beginning, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film. He dies when a tiger - that the SAS have for no reason - rips his throat out. Alexei Sayle, who also appeared in the original series has a different role in the movie as a Soviet soldier who is hiding nuclear weapons on a Caribbean holiday island.
Other characters include two tabloid journalists who discover the Communist weapons, but are killed; a rear admiral who is openly homosexual (appropriately enough, since "rear admiral" is also apparently slang for a man who practices anal sex), two security guards who accompany President Adams everywhere (even when she's going swimming) and a former president (a parody of Richard Nixon) who is now in prison and authored the book Commie Bastards I Have Known.
Although Wendy is rescued, Sir Mortimer ignores Adams' pleas to call off the nuclear strike. She then calls the rear admiral (who Lacrobat hypnotised to imagine he was in a burning building when fingers are snapped). He ponders calling off the strike, but when a sailor snaps his fingers, he calls "Fire!", the strike is launched and the film ends.
The film reuses some jokes from the series, like Lacrobat's absurd disguises (at one time going by the name Dr. Thesius Lyndon Penis), a dying Soviet leader, a crucifixion sight gag, the president being unable to decipher other people's technobabble, an insane Prime Minister and an overly macho CIA agent with ludicrously complicated plans. There is an SAS sequence in the series as well, and another gay military character. The following mock news story was used in both as well, "A woman who secured a lock of Frank Sinatra's hair twenty years ago today sold it back to him for an undisclosed sum."
See also
- The Mouse that Roared
- Dr. Strangelove
- Canadian Bacon
- Wag the Dog
- List of films based on British sitcoms