Nineteen to Eight

Rating: 5/10 (25 July 2005)

Hysterical...Not hysterical as in 'outrageously funny' you understand but hysterical as in hyperactive for 1941 is really just two and a bit hours of overly theatrical slapstick, noise, shouting - a lot of shouting and a hoard of actors who look as if they've wandered into a wartime version of Noises Off but without the choreography. Its not awful per say it just doesn't work as a comedy. The script by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale is peppered with good ideas but the resulting film is a mess - incoherent in places, meandering and unsure of its focus. Spielberg well and truly loses his grip on the thing very early on and some imaginative sequences aside, generally doesn't know who its about or where they all fit into the directionless escapade. You can watch it in a neutral kind of way but most of it falls flat and after 90 minutes or so you just want to shut half the cast up. Luckily for Spielberg and the two Bobs they were more than talented enough to bounce back but this movie ALMOST scuppered Back to the Future and for that alone you may want to look at it like the celluloid equivalent of a the friend who tired to run off with your girlfriend and destroy your relationship. Do you really want to see him again after that?