The Pope Must Diet

The Pope Must Diet

The Pope Must Diet

This comedy quickly evolved into a drama and then goes back to being a comedy again. Even then, it is not to be taken seriously. It is light-hearted, sometimes a little offensive, but it is fun overall. It was quite controversial back in the early nineties, and I fail to see why. It is not more or less offensive than the mini-series "The New Pope". I guess times have changed. I remember seeing it a few times back in the nineties, and I always found it funny at times. Sometimes, it could also be sad. For example (spoilers), the new Pope finds himself living in the streets and stumbles into a child he knew from the orphanage he worked at, who is now also homeless because the orphanage closed. It shows you people's hypocrisy, how they leave the poor guy out in the cold as soon as he stops being Pope. Watch it if you can find it. And remember, at the end of the day, it is a comedy. Not real life.

This is a hard-to-find gem; try tracking one down in DVD. The search is well worth the effort. This is satire/farce at its very best. The movie has not garner greater appreciation due to its touchy subject matter. Or it may be the story hits a little to close to home. The story is loosely based on the disputed account of the death of Pope John Paul I. The way this account goes, Pope John Paul I was horrified at the multiple scandals occurring at the Vatican Bank, and wanted them stopped, until he died under suspicious circumstances after only being Pope for forty-five days. While this may be considered a spoiler, it actually is not. The real value in the movie are in the comic performances. Herbert Lom is at his slimiest best as the gangster kingpin in charge of the corruption in the Vatican Bank. Alex Rocco, who played Moe Green in the Godfather, is absolutely over the top as a corrupt Cardinal. The other supporting roles are simply hilarious. Robbie Cochrane is good as the bumbling priest who is accidentally elected Pope. To be honest, the performances of Lom and Rocco overshadow Cochrane's lead role. My best advice is that if you did not like Monty Python's Life of Brian, you will definitely not like this film. On the other hand, if you can get past the subject matter, the movie will give you many good laughs.

So goes this irreverent, and often hilarious "black comedy." The film does have several problems, starting with the name change from "The Pope Must Die", to "The Pope Must Diet." The movie has nothing to do with diets, but the Mob is trying to kill the Pope. Performances are uneven, from Robbie Coltrane being an acceptable totally unqualified Pope, to brilliant characterizations of unscrupulous Vatican Clergy, by Paul Bartel and Alex Rocco. That's in addition to appearances by Beverly D'Angelo and Herbert Lom. The editing is somewhat choppy, and the violence comes and goes, however overall the film succeeds as entertainment, mostly due to the inventive script, and class actors. No religious apologies are necessary, for this outrageous and hilarious comedy. MERK

I heard the story of them changing the title of this movie and without even seeing it, I was very upset that they would give into pressure from a church and change the name. After seeing the movie, it's clear that if you have a problem with the title, you are a humorless turd.It's funny that the church never complained about the mob picking the Pope. Starring Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid from Harry Potter) and Beverly D'Angelo and written by Peter Richardson(the man behind The Comic Strip Presents), this movie is hilarious and action packed. The mob is picking the new Pope and a hard of hearing clerk(Adrian Edmondson,Vyvyan from The Young Ones)hears the name wrong and a guitar playing priest from an orphanage becomes the new Pope. The only way to get rid of him is to kill him. Wackiness ensues. This is a must see.

According to Stephen Graham and Constance Wu of The Guardian Film Review (1991), The Pope Must Die is a Scintillating well written Comedy escapade by Writers Peter Richardson and Pete Richens. In the Movie a less than qualified and far from perfect Priest is mistakenly named the New Pontiff. As the Pope, he must deal with Vatican Corruption, the Mobsters and the reappearance of an old lover. Paul Bartel turns in one of his best performances on par with Robbie Coltrane. This film is truly hilarious and if you're Catholic and fairly broadminded, it's a scream. Annette Crosbie as the nun, and Ade Edmundson as the deaf Priest are the best performers in my opinion - save for Herbert Lom and Robbie Coltrane who really make this movie come alive. The film has plenty of heart and is a must see. Courtesy of Neville Cawas Bardoliwalla OBE

A less-than-qualified and far-from-perfect priest is mistakenly named the new pope. As the pontiff, he must deal with Vatican corruption, the Mob and the reappearance of his old lover.... This is one of those movies that I remember being released back in 1991, and it was something that I really wanted to see. This was a time when movies had huge adverts in newspapers, and British movies like this were few and far between. Up until this point, the only other British I remember to have a wide release was Buddys Song. So it was something that appealed to me. But I was only thirteen at the time, so it was against the law for me to see it. The the years passed, and I came across it the other night on the Sony Channel. Was it worth the wait? in some instances, yes. It's exactly what I expected, British actors looking worryingly younger, with bad fashion, and lots of innuendo. Coltrane is great as the titular holy man, and the plot is equally nineties. Richardson does write a good story, and the story is good, it's just a shame, that we have a silly sub plot involving Balthazar Gettys irritating (dubbed by the way) rock star. I know it's intricate to the plot, but it didn't have to be so bawdy and feel so out of place. Other than that, it's very funny in places, with great support from Lom, Sessions, and Edmondson, and if you are a fan of the series 'the Comic Strip' you will get much enjoyment from this.

It is little surprising that a movie with such a controversial title has attracted so much criticism over the years. Peter Richardson and Pete Richens' 1991 film is a comedy drama which stars Robbie Coltrane as Dave Albinizi, a well meaning but unorthodox Catholic priest who seems to spend more time doing mechanical work than doing his sermons. It was originally intended to start life in the late '80's as an edition of 'The Comic Strip Presents' entitled 'Five Go To Hell' but the project was shelved following the poor box office performance of Richardson's 1987 film 'Eat The Rich'. Instead, Richardson and Richens conjured a film out of the project. Though building up a following at the time, 'The Pope Must Die' seems to have vanished into obscurity. With the P.C brigade cracking down on everything, it seems highly unlikely that we will ever see a DVD release or even a satellite repeat of this film in the near future. A pity as 'The Pope Must Die' is a superb little work of art, with wonderful one liners sprinkled more than generously throughout as well as a generous helping of dramatic moments. Following the death of Pope Pius, The Vatican are on the lookout for a new pontiff. Cardinal Rocco, who is in cahoots with Mafia boss Vitorio Corelli, suggests that silver-haired Father Albini ( who Corelli wants to use to embezzle money from the Vatican bank ) should be the new pope. However the deaf secretary of the College of Cardinals Fr. Rookie mishears the name and writes down in the official election results book that Albinizi ( who has been fired from his position at an Italian orphanage ) is to be the new holy father. One day, out of the blue, an attractive young woman appears in the papal apartment, disguised as a nun. This is Veronica Don Dante, Dave's ex-lover whose rock star son Joe Don Dante ( who turns out to be Dave's illegitimate son ) is in a relationship with Corelli's daughter Luccia. Angered at the thought of his daughter in the hands of a rock star, Corelli hires a pair of bumbling thugs to kill Joe, which they do. Unfortunately, they end up killing Luccia as well. Robbie Coltrane's performance as Albinizi is wonderful to say the least. Coltrane was no stranger to poking fun at religion - he played Orangeman Mason Boyne in the BBC Scotland sketch show 'Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee' and the year before this film played bank robber Charlie McManus who, along with his partner-in-crime Brian Hope ( played by Eric Idle ), disguised himself as a nun to avoid imprisonment in 'Nuns On The Run'. Also of good value is beautiful Berverly D'Angelo. This fine actress is a natural when it comes to comedy ( watch her in 'High Spirits' and 'Every Which Way But Loose' for proof of that ). John Sessions ( who also starred in 'Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee' with Coltrane ) and Steven O'Donnell were hilarious as Corelli's thugs who in terms of incompetence could give Harry and Marv from 'Home Alone' a run for their money. As Corelli, the late Herbert Lom sent shivers down the spine with his cold eyes and gruff voice. Impressive in their supporting roles also were Alex Rocco, Paul Bartel, Ade Edmondson, Salvatore Cascio, Janez Vajevec, Balthazar Getty and also the film's co-creator Peter Richardson. Appearing in lesser roles were Annette Crosbie, Ernest Clark, Niall Buggy and William Hootkins. The film was a hit all over the world, especially in America ( where it was titled 'The Pope Must Diet' ) and Yugoslavia ( where it was titled 'Sleeping With The Fishes' ). The film is also notable for Coltrane's hilarious rendition of Pat Boone's 'Speedy Gonzales', which was later released on LP along with the movie's theme music. If by some miracle you can get your hands on this film, I would highly recommend it. Never mind what those P.C bores say, just get stuck in and watch it!

This film is truly hilarious. Some people mightn't like it, but if you're Catholic and fairly broadminded, it's a scream. Annette Crosbie as the nun, and Ade Edmundson as the deaf Priest are the best performers- save for Herbert Lom and Robbie Coltrane who really make this movie come alive.