"Off to Rome"

Author(s): Ryan
Location: Portland

"Off to Rome"

Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Directed by Mel Brooks
Written by Mel Brooks and Woody Allen

Main Cast

David Hyde Pierce as Hannibal
Toni Collette as Lucilla/Alexander
Rainn Wilson as Cleitus
Tony Shalhoub as Philip
Vince Vaughn as Titus
Mel Brooks as Hamilcar
Woody Allen as Mittnes

Tagline: "You Try Riding 500 Miles on the Back of an Elephant"

Synopsis: Mel Brooks and Woody Allen bring you a tale of courage, family, and the strive for glory. Okay, maybe minus the courage part. In this new adaptation of the epic story, Hannibal (Pierce) is not the man we hear about in the classic tales. He’s short, scrawny, and widely known as the son of the “crazy guy”, Hamilcar (Brooks), who constantly sells “Roman Army Insurance” with his friend Mittnes (Allen). Hamilcar’s insurance is considered a scam by most citizens, but in these troubled times, a few poor souls actually purchase the insurance. Hannibal is a valiant soldier, but can never seem shake away from his father’s wacko persona. He has aspirations of one day becoming a great general and he just got his lucky break. Hannibal has been appointed to lead a small army to Spain, travel through the Alps, and attack Rome from the north. The head general of whole army, Titus (Vaughn), sees this mission as a way to rid himself of all his worthless soldiers so he may attack Rome without their blunt confusion. Titus assigns Cleitus (Wilson), Titus’ right hand man who takes his every assignment too serious, to keep an eye on Hannibal and make sure he doesn’t reach Rome before the real army can attack. Hannibal convinces his best friend, Philip (Shalhoub), and wife, Lucilla (Collette), to come along with him. Because women aren’t allowed to be part of the army, Lucilla has to dress up as a man named Alexander to travel with her husband. Throughout the journey to Rome, the audience witnesses many hilarious moment such as Hamilcar and Mittnes selling their Roman Army insurance, Cleitus overhearing Hannibal professing his love to “Alexander”, and Philip first learning to fight with his sword. All these amazing moment add up to the final scene where Hannibal leads his cowardly army into Rome where he mistakenly gets praised as the hero of the battle despite Titus being the real hero. Hannibal rides into Carthage the next day as the epic general we all know him as today.

What the Press would say:

Without a doubt, one of my most anticipated movies of all time and America agrees. Maybe Mel Brooks’ last movie, “Off to Rome” is arguably also his best. He teams up with another comedic genius, Woody Allen, to write this witty script about a bunch of outcast soldiers who are sent on a phony mission to get them out of the way. The script is superbly written and each of the actors makes the most they can out of it. David Hyde Pierce is brilliant as Hannibal. In this quirky take on Hannibal’s journey to Rome, Pierce is perfectly cast. He provides the perfect balance between awkward humor and subtle laughs. Rainn Wilson does a wonderful job at being overly serious to the point that whenever he is onscreen; you are rolling on the ground laughing. The scene where he over hears Hannibal professing his love to “Alexander” is far and away the funniest moment of the movie. Tony Shalhoub and Toni Collette give great performances as Hannibal’s main go to people. You can’t help but laugh whenever you see Shalhoub practice his sword dance (I would tell you about the dance, but then it will just be ruined when you see the movie) and Toni Collette in ancient culture drag is utterly hilarious. It’s easy to see why Woody Allen didn’t ask his darling Scarlett Johansson to fill this role. She just wouldn’t fit in this role as well as Collette does. I can easily see this masterpiece become a box-office smash that will stay with American culture for a long, long time. ****/****

FYC:

Best Picture (Golden Globes)
Best Actor: David Hyde Pierce
Best Actress: Toni Collette
Best Supporting Actor: Rainn Wilson
Best Supporting Actor: Tony Shalhoub
Best Orginial Screenplay: Mel Brooks and Woody Allen