Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Wordiezett So much average

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Amy Adler Tommy (Eric Idle) lives in London with his Hindi family. Although he really doesn't look Indian, he has never questioned his heritage. As some sort of official in the British embassy, Tommy's boss tells him he must greet the newest Duke in the area. That would be American Henry (Rick Moranis), a rude, obnoxious sort. As an newborn, Henry went missing for three days of his early life, when his parents left him at a bar, and was later found in a telephone booth. Hank went to live in America with his mother (Barbara Hershey) when the original Duke died. Now, he's back and Tommy is gritting his teeth. But, wait. As Tommy hangs out at the mansion, he soon discovers that HE, Tommy, looks like a lot of the family's deceased relatives, hanging in portraits, among other things. Confronting his Hindi parents, Tommy is stunned to learn that someone PAID them to adopt him, as a baby, and they have a monogrammed blanket and silver rattle that came, too. Ho ho ho, could Henry and Tommy have been switched as babies, when the infant Duke was abandoned? Maybe! So, since Henry's so insufferable, what if Tommy knocks him off and reclaims his own title? This is a funny film that should take anyone's mind off the proverbial troubles. Idle, who wrote the script, is especially mirthful and the rest of the cast, including Moranis, Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and John Cleese, is great, too. The English sets are nice, especially the Duke's castle, and the costumes, camera work and direction contribute to the film's overall success. No, its no Shakespeare, but it doesn't pretend to be so, either. If you need a quick picker-upper, funny flick style, this is one to secure.

dreeze I rented this movie on VHS in the late 90's and somehow I never quite got to returning it to the store. Lacking the absurd humor of the Monty Python era, as a huge Idle and Cleese fan I was at first a bit disappointed. Eric Idle had produced what seemed at first a rather shallow comedy flick. Still, it had it's moments and at the end of the first viewing it left me satisfied, yet no more than that.In the following days however, I found myself watching this movie over and over again, getting to love it more and more each time. The brilliance in this movie is not in the script (a rather basic story about a personality mix-up) nor the usual Python-esquire absurdity (almost completely missing, except for the notion of an American as a British Duke) but rather in the main characters themselves. The American educated Duke-to-be, the Duchess Mummy who is so much of a man-eater it defies each sign of royalty, the gold-digging yet promiscuous fiancée, the scheming cook and the mad lawyer. Not to mention the blond haired, blue eyed Asian. Each of them has a sort of second layer to their personality which is so absurd, yet intriguing, that simply playing their characters is enough for the actors to make this a memorable appearance.Rick Moranis especially surprised me, if only by not being his obnoxious self.Nowadays, whenever I switch on my old VCR i get to wonder which tape will be in it, Splitting Heirs or Jackie Brown. Either way, the next time it will be the other way around.

bjjones1960 The movie reminded me of one of my favorites - Kind Hearts and Coronets - except instead of killing several relatives in the line of succession as Alec Guiness's character did, Eric Idle's character was trying several methods to kill one. Also, Eric Idle strongly resembled every ancestor in the Duke's portrait gallery much like Alec Guiness looked just like every member of his family in Kind Hearts and Coronets (since he was playing all the roles). John Cleese was so funny describing how the new Duke could meet with an accident and then listing possible accidents which included poison mixed with scotch to disguise both the taste and cause of death. Eric Idle's character was very likable, and even though he's much older than Kitty, his smile and charm made them seem like they could be a couple. The whole cast was all star - Cleese, Idle, Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rick Moranis, and like Monty Python movies, there are loads of quotable quotes.

blinkprincess17 This movie starring former Pythons Idle and Cleese, as well as Rick Moranis and Catherine Zeta-Jones is an interesting little comedy about a baby English duke (Idle) who disappeared at birth and lost his inheritance to an American (Moranis). He doesn't learn about the mistake until he's 35, living with his adoptive Pakistani family, and working as a stockbroker for a large firm. Zeta-Jones is Moranis' pretty, golddigging fiance and Barbara Hershey plays the hysterical, widowed nymphomaniac "Duchess Mummy". John Cleese is a mad lawyer and it's clearly not his best work, but fans will like to see his face. Idle is not at his greatest either, but the plot is kinda neat and moves fairly quickly. This was before Zeta-Jones became the "Chicago" superstar she is today, but everyone will note her talent and latina-like beauty. I remember Rick Moranis best as the fabulous "Dark Helmet" in "Space Balls", but I enjoyed him as the nerdy, rollerblading, 10-year-old in a man's body in this one. You may be disappointed at seeing the comedy gods Idle and Cleese fall kind of flat, but give it at least a peek, for there are some quality scenes.