Absolutely Anything

We have all wondered what we would do if we have the power to do anything we wanted. This is exactly what the new British comedy Absolutely Anything explores. It is the first film directed by Monty Python member Terry Jones in nearly 20 years.

When a group of aliens collect a satellite launched from Earth in the 1970s, they debate on whether Earthlings are worthy of living. They pick English school teacher Neil Clarke (Simon Pegg) at random to give him the power to do absolutely anything he wants. If he chooses to use the powers for good, mankind will live, but if he chooses them for evil or just uses it for his own benefit, Earth will be destroyed.

Neil starts uses his powers for his own amusement and to help out his friends, such as making his dog talk (voiced by Robin Williams in his final acting role), and helping his fellow teacher Ray (Sanjeev Bhaskar) get his crush, the bitchy teacher Miss Pringle (Emma Pierson), to like him. This backfires when she suddenly starts worshiping him and forms a cult around him. But of course things get out of hand and he jeopardises both the fate of the world, and his chances with going out with Catherine (Kate Beckinsale).

Delivering the voices of the scheming aliens, this is the first film to include all the living members of the Monty Python alumni since the group’s last movie way back in 1983, The Meaning of Life. While Absolutely Anything doesn’t come close to the greatness of the group’s ’70s movies, how could it? In fact, how could anything? This technically isn’t a Monty Python film after all.

You could almost say that Absolutely Anything is like a British version of the Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty, but with aliens and way, way better. Having said that, not all of the jokes work, but there are still plenty of laughs to be had.

Absolutely Anything
Released in cinemas from Thursday November 19
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