John Cleese, the 85-year-old Monty Python legend, has released a new travelogue film titled John Cleese Packs It In, which chronicles a European mini-tour while he battles a litany of health issues including partial deafness, bone spurs, and vertigo. The film, which runs a thin 80 minutes, offers little of Cleese's stage show, instead focusing on his grumbles and grievances, from repacking luggage to being filmed at unflattering angles.
Cleese's motivation for the project is characteristically blunt, with a wheezy 'I need the money' serving as a running gag. The film features B-roll footage of fish markets and cheese shops, as well as an unlovely photomontage of Cleese's battered big toe, which he warns viewers about. Sporadically, moments of silliness and joy emerge, such as his delight at having a lemur named after him and a visit to a Buddhist temple.
The most illuminating aspect of the film is archival footage of Cleese's 1991 sit-down with the Dalai Lama. However, sustained inner peace seems elusive, and even his jocular asides have an ungenerous edge. Jibes at fellow Python Michael Palin sound sour rather than fond, and upon hearing of an ex-wife's death, Cleese quips, 'It was the wrong one.'
The film inadvertently raises questions about the pressures on ageing entertainers, as Cleese appears fragile and frazzled, inhabiting a strange limbo. It prompts reflection on whether capitalism or show business compulsion drives such figures to continue working into their twilight years, rather than enjoying a restful retirement.
