: (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
, a direct Bond spoof with the title character
portrayed by talented physical comedian Rowan Atkinson (otherwise known
as
). 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
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
, 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.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
