Some things definitely improve with age. The Rise And Rise Of Michael
Rimmer, panned by contemporary reviewers as a latecomer to the swinging
sixties� satirical ball, now appears, decades later, to be one of the most
incisive, witty, and unnerving political/social satires ever captured on
film. It�s the finest celluloid outing of the great Peter Cook, managing to
portray a character even more cutting and ruthless than his wily tempter
Spiggott in 1967�s Bedazzled. As the titular Rimmer, Cook marches
unannounced into the offices of the Fairburn advertising agency one
morning, clad in a smart suit and carrying an officious-looking clipboard
under his arm - so loud, brash, and confident that no-one dare question his
right to be there and proceeds to use the company as the first rung on his
ladder to hasty success. By the end of the movie, this all too plausible
creation has declared himself the first President of Great Britain, and his
manipulative, whirlwind rise to power has left all enemies discredited,
deceased, or simply reeling at the force of his overwhelming charisma.
Despite appearing as a series of comic sketches (featuring the usual array
of top-notch Brit talent) and having been part-scripted by �Monty Python�
duo Cleese & Chapman and partly by Cook and director Kevin Billington, the
movie dovetails superbly, every routine achieving the requisite laughs
while keeping the sinister Machiavellian plot forging ahead. One early
Rimmer success is an ad campaign re-inventing a staid brand of inedible
humbugs, packaging them into a rather suggestive length of silver tubing,
re-naming the product �Scorpio�, and filming an extremely risqu� t.v.
commercial which will have fans of those old �King Cone� advertisements
salivating! After this, there�s no stopping the devious fraudster - his
machinations result in flustered pollster Ronnie Corbett uncovering the
Rimmer-contrived �fact� that 42% of Nuneaton�s populace are practising
Buddhists; political ambitions lead him to court and then abandon both the
socialist Prime Minister and the ailing Tory leader, but not before
spin-doctoring a Conservative election victory and securing himself a safe
seat (becoming Member of Parliament for the constituency of �Budleigh
Moor�, in-joke fans!), while nabbing a trophy wife (the fabulously sexy
Vanessa Howard) in the process. The U.K.�s ailing gold reserves are
replenished by the simple act of declaring war on Switzerland and attacking
their treasury fortress using cans of �Union Jacilli�, i.e. the common cold
in handy aerosol spray form, prior to dishing out a press release
announcing that gold has been discovered in the North Sea; this in turn
brings about a convenient photo opportunity during which Rimmer is able to
push the new PM to his watery death from atop an unstable rig platform.
Once installed as leader of the country, Rimmer goes into overdrive,
pulling off his greatest coup so far. Pray that no prospective ministerial
candidate ever sees this movie, as the plan proposed is so fiendish that it
might just work for real. It sounds, at face value, to be the ultimate in
democracy - allowing everyone in the country the opportunity to vote in a
referendum on every single issue. The genius of this ploy is revealed when
the great British public, saturated with form-filling and ballot-marking,
give up all interest in politics - leaving a clear path for Rimmer to
announce his job upgrade to presidential status. Surviving two
assassination attempts (one perpetrator being disgruntled ex-Fairburn boss
Arthur Lowe, his performance as usual quite the best aspect of a fine
picture) during the Kennedy-in-Dallas style closing scenes, Cook�s
concluding, chilling freeze-frame stare into camera leaves no doubt as to
his future dictatorial intentions.
If you�re considering voting at a future election - whether for New Labour,
Tory, Lib Dem or Monster Raving Loony see this film first. And think.
http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=193
