And now, the Freudian point of view...

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 1999)

Because no-one has mentioned this, I just wanted to point out the extent to which much of the success of this movie comes from its being a brilliant and hilarious psychoanalysis of the relationship between a man's penis and his gun - or, in this case, nuclear warhead. Did you notice how every characters' personality is defined by their sexual proclivities, which in turn is clearly identified in their name? General Jack D. Ripper is a misogynist who wants to start a nuclear war because he blames his impotence on a communist plot. Then we have President Merkin Muffley, General Buck Turgidson, Ambassador de Sadesky, Major "King" Kong. Can you look at those names and tell me who ends up having the biggest gun? Don't even get me started on the title character.