All the Queen's Men (2001)
War is a drag
Starring: Matt Le Blanc, Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo, Nicolette Krebitz, Udo Kier, David Birkin, Edward Fox
Director: Stefan Ruzowitsky
Running Time: 123 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 12
Comedy, War
On DVD Matt Le Blanc plays Steven O'Rourke, an American agent trying to steal an enigma machine from the Nazis during World War II. He has already almost succeeded once, however the machine he successfully stole was destroyed by a pedantic British officer once he escaped with it. In fact, that is the story of most of the missions in his career, earning him the nickname of "Agent Almost". Now he is to try again, this time with a team of British specialists.
Because of increased security, it has been decided that the best place to obtain the machine is from the factory that makes them. Unfortunately, like many factories during the war, it is staffed by women. Drag queen Tony Parker (Eddie Izzard) has the job of turning the all-male team of agents into passable women. The team are successfully inserted into Germany, and set out to put their plans into action. However, even if they manage to get hold of the machine they still have to escape, and that is not going to prove to be so easy.
This is a lightweight comedy that starts with an interesting premise but doesn't really develop it. The natural comedy inherent in putting reluctant men in drag isn't really exploited; instead the movie gets much of its laughs by poking fun at the idea of cross-dressing in itself. Only comedian Eddie Izzard comes across as content to be seen on screen in a dress, and he turns in the best performance in the film - his musical efforts in particular deserve a mention. Although the film does have a plot, there are rather a lot of glaring holes in it, and no effort appears to have been made to fill them. The film does look good though, with decent cinematography throughout.
DVD Extras: A basic but interesting package.
Extras: Making of, Behind the scenes.
It's Got: Eddie Izzard on top form.
It Needs: A less self-conscious performance from Matt Le Blanc.
Alternatives: Jakob the Liar, Miss Congeniality, Top Secret.
Summary: This is a rather average cross-dressing comedy, worth watching for Eddie Izzard's performance.
Review by Andrea Chee
Review Date: 24th May 2003
External Links
All the Queen's Men at the IMDB
