Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you seek a James Bond spoof score that is so effective that it's better than a fair number of the real thing. Avoid it... if snazzy and jazzy action scores with blaring brass and groovy guitars make you wince, or if you simply can't tolerate a little poke of fun at a beloved franchise. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Johnny English: (Edward Shearmur/Howard Goodall) The Brits consider spy thriller films to be among their dearest specialties. They are, after all, the brains and talent behind the James Bond franchise and, logically, they're the ones in the best position to poke fun at their beloved espionage genre. Such is the case with Johnny English, a direct Bond spoof with the title character portrayed by talented physical comedian Rowan Atkinson (otherwise known as Mr. Bean). Along with a supporting cast of John Malkovich and Natalie Imbruglia, Atkinson heads a movie in which his newly commissioned license to stupefy is extended to the boundaries of misfortune and satire in every direction. Whether or not you can tolerate the film probably depends on how highly Atkinson is positioned your top-10 list of "people who should suffer an untimely death." His bizarre facial contortions border on the realms of perverse and disturbing no matter your tolerance of them. The film opened in Great Britain in April of 2003 and followed a few months later in America. It joyously takes advantage of strained relations between the French and their American and British counterparts in the politics of the early 2000's, with Malkovich's over the top performance revolving around a French maniac who steals the crown jewels (literally) of England. Young composer Edward Shearmur was hired to provide a full-scale parody score for the project. While not directly involved in major espionage scores in his rising career, he had scored a handful of films that were knocking on the door of mainstream success in his early projects. The music for Johnny English is a perfect kind of assignment for such a composer, because it allows him or her to incorporate the best of the genre that is being made fun of while also taking some comedic liberties with that same material. The Bond franchise of scores is definitely the largest target of parody in Johnny English, and fans of that music will note immediately that Shearmur (along with associate Howard Goodall) incorporated pieces from nearly the entire range of Bond music from the previous 25 years in this work. In perfect parody form, Shearmur plays 95% of the film as though it were a completely serious endeavor. The film was designed to have a title song sequence with Robbie Williams performing an unrelated parody of a Bond song. This time with a distinct British flavour (complete with a theremin knock-off), the new song is a hilariously written piece that, in its lyrics, establishes Atkinson as the new Bond, with all the sexual and predatory prowess of the real thing. While somewhat hard to believe, the song is actually a Media Ventures production, co-written by Hans Zimmer. Its generally upbeat and silly attitude sets the course for the entire album, which alternates between lengthy orchestral cues and campy songs. Shearmur's score then takes flight in "Theme from Johnny English," with the same structure as a Bond score and the predictable large-scale orchestral and choral ensemble to back it up. Slowly, over the course of his score, he takes a page from no less than five Bond composers: Monty Norman, John Barry, Marvin Hamlisch, Bill Conti, and David Arnold (sorry, Eric Serra, your score was so poor to begin with that a parody of it would be meaningless). His title theme has the rambunctious spirit and jazzy orchestral bombast of John Barry's old themes and a variation on the Vic Flick guitar solos written by Monty Norman. The theme is engaging, and, ironically, ends up as a more capable Bond interpretation than even Shearmur was likely trying to accomplish. In fact, the theme is so lively and well constructed in its use of counterpoint and instrumentation that it surpasses the quality of many of the recent, actual Bond scores. Shearmur offers a Hamlisch-like piano interlude (from The Spy Who Loved Me) for the sensitive scenes between agent English and his female double-agent counterpart. He then extends a rendition of Bill Conti's use of the flugelhorn in For Your Eyes Only to a trumpet for scenes of dejection in the latter half of Johnny English. The phenomenal action sequences, highlighted by "Truck Chase," provide the power of an active brass section with a jazzy rhythm and electronic bass that sounds eerily similar to equivalent sequences in Barry's A View to a Kill. Finally, the villain's theme is rendered with a combination of choir and electronics (along with orchestral accompaniment) that had been a staple of the more recent David Arnold scores for the Bond franchise. In sum, the only mainstay of the Bond scores that is absent from Johnny English is the epic love theme performed by strings (as heard in scores from From Russia With Love to Tomorrow Never Dies). But the rest of the package is superb, and Shearmur obviously exhibits overflowing enthusiasm for the project. The playful, and yet overpoweringly serious score (in parts) will be a guilty pleasure for any fan of the Bond scores, no matter your generation. The album was released internationally to coincide with the British opening in April 2003, but received an identical international release to coincide with the American debut of the film. The album features several non-Shearmur cues in addition to the hilarious opening title song ("A Man for All Seasons"). Fitting brilliantly with the espionage genre is the cue "Kismet" by the appropriately named all-string quartet Bond, taken from their popular album "Born." The Bond girls (yet another stab at comedy) also appear in the film and perform the (somewhat stereotypical) salsa version of Shearmur's main theme for Johnny English. The only detractions from the album are the inclusion of two songs by Moloko and ABBA, although the latter song fits well with the campy British spirit that is sprinkled throughout the score, title song, and film. The international release of the album is actually a bit deceptive in its marketing. On the outside of the product, it lists the total time as "62:38" when, in reality, the total time is "60:38" and a whole ten minutes of that time consists of silence. The last track, "Agent No.1," is seemingly 15-minute cue. But in its midsection is ten minutes of silence to trick the listener into believing that the score is over. The hidden two-minute cue at the far end of that track is a surprisingly mellow performance of the score's melancholy theme once again on solo trumpet and piano. This placement doesn't make sense, because if you're going to try to trick people, at least hit them with an orchestral bang after ten minutes of silence! Still, the 40+ minutes of Shearmur's score constitutes an outstanding effort, and Johnny English comes as close to receiving a full five star rating as any spoof score can get. A slightly flawed album keeps that from happening, but don't let this minor circumstance stop you from enjoying the romp of an excellent parody score. **** Track Listings:
Total Time: 60:38
All artwork and sound clips from Johnny English are Copyright © 2003, Decca/Universal. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 5/17/03, updated 3/8/09. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2003-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. Here is what's really scary: Rowan Atkinson reminds me of perverts more than Michael Jackson does. |
