Fierce Creatures (1997)

Rod McCain (Kevin Kline) is a blustering billionaire who buys and sells just for the buzz it gives him. Management of one of his recent acquisitions, a British zoo, is in the hands of Rollo Lee (John Cleese), who is tasked to squeeze a 20 percent profit from the place or else. His idea to succeed is to posit the theory that violence is the only thing that sells and decides to purge the zoo of all but the dangerous animals.

His approach is complicated by the arrival of two Americans; newly hired marketing expert Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis) and McCain’s lout of a son Vince (Kevin Kline redux) who plans to transform the zoo into a corporate and celebrity sponsored theme park. Toss into the mix, Adrian ‘Bugsy’ Malone (Michael Palin), a zoo employee who is an obsessive walking encyclopedia chattering incessantly. Along for the ride are the staff who try to save their charges by convincing Rollo that the animals are dangerous, leading to some very creative misdirection.

I was quite taken by this movie once I realized that the reviews it got were undeserved and any salaciousness should have been reserved for the film editing.

Director:  Fred Schepisi; Robert Young Writer:  John Cleese; Iain Johnstone; William Goldman Cast:
John Cleese -  Rollo Lee Jamie Lee Curtis -  Willa Weston Kevin Kline -  Vince McCain/Rod McCain Robert Lindsay -  Sydney Lotterby Michael Palin -  Adrian ‘Bugsy’ Malone Ronnie Corbett -  Reggie Sea Lions Carey Lowell -  Cub Felines Bille Brown -  Neville		Derek Griffiths -  Garry Ungulates Cynthia Cleese -  Pip Small Mammals Richard Ridings -  Hugh Primates Maria Aitken -  Di Harding Michael Percival -  Ant Keeper Fred Evans -  Flamingo Keeper Lisa Hogan -  Sea lion Keeper Choy-Ling Man -  Parrot Keeper