SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: JOHNNY ENGLISH

"JOHNNY ENGLISH"
(2003) (Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Mild	Heavy	Minor	Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Moderate	Minor	Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Moderate	Minor	None	Mild	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Comedy: A bumbling British agent tries to stop a French villain from becoming the next King of England.

PLOT:

Johnny English (ROWAN ATKINSON) is a desk jockey with the British Secret Service who dreams of becoming a top secret agent. He gets his chance when his work accidentally leaves all of the other agents dead. Accordingly, his superior, Pegasus (TIM PIGOTT-SMITH), assigns him to protect the Crown Jewels.

They're to be unveiled at a restoration ceremony sponsored by French businessman Pascal Sauvage (JOHN MALKOVICH) who runs prisons all around the world. Despite English's best, but bungled intentions, he can't prevent the jewels from being stolen.

From that point on, he and his assistant, Bough (BEN MILLER), along with Interpol agent Lorna Campbell (NATALIE IMBRUGLIA) set out to retrieve the jewels. While doing so, they must also stop Pascal who's intent on using his royal heritage to become the next King of England, all while dealing with English's innate ability to complicate and mess up matters.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast they might, but this one seems most attractive to younger teenagers (younger kids won't get the spoof and older teens will likely think it looks too juvenile for them).

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For comic nudity, some crude humor and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ROWAN ATKINSON plays a bumbling agent for the British Secret Service who's assigned to protect the Crown Jewels and then sets out to find them and stop a villain's diabolical takeover plan. Cocksure but often incompetent, he ends up complicating matters.
BEN MILLER plays his more competent assistant who must often rectify the messes that English creates.
JOHN MALKOVICH plays a French businessman who's intent on gaining control of the British monarchy.
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA plays an Interpol agent who joins forces with English to bring down Pascal. She briefly uses profanity and talks of being sexually attracted to English.; BEN MILLER plays his more competent assistant who must often rectify the messes that English creates.
JOHN MALKOVICH plays a French businessman who's intent on gaining control of the British monarchy.
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA plays an Interpol agent who joins forces with English to bring down Pascal. She briefly uses profanity and talks of being sexually attracted to English.; JOHN MALKOVICH plays a French businessman who's intent on gaining control of the British monarchy.
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA plays an Interpol agent who joins forces with English to bring down Pascal. She briefly uses profanity and talks of being sexually attracted to English.; NATALIE IMBRUGLIA plays an Interpol agent who joins forces with English to bring down Pascal. She briefly uses profanity and talks of being sexually attracted to English.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered. Some brief, sexually related dialogue is present, as is the sight of a man's bare butt (played for laughs), while another man is seen in his underwear.

Violence - all played in an action and/or comedy fashion - includes several scenes of people aiming and/or shooting handguns and machine guns at others. An explosion reportedly takes the lives of various agents (but it occurs far away), while some fighting and hitting of others is also present, as is some slapstick style material.

Some imitative behavior and bad attitudes are present, as is some crude humor involving the visible results of having the contents of a communal latrine dumped onto a person. Meanwhile, various characters also drink.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: People have drinks at a reception, including Lorna. English orders a Bloody Mary and Pascal later shows up with one.
Miscellaneous people have beer in a restaurant where English and Lorna have sake.
People have champagne at a reception.
We see a bottle next to English while he's upset.
Miscellaneous people have wine.
People have wine at a meeting.
Miscellaneous people have beer.
Champagne pours into glasses in English's car.
Miscellaneous people have drinks.

BLOOD/GORE: English puts some ketchup on his lip to make it look like blood from fighting a made-up assailant.
We see Bough with a bloody nose.
Lorna tells English, who's just consumed a sea urchin in a restaurant, that the creatures feed through their bottom (prompting him to start to react adversely).
English crawls up a pipe and reacts to the bad smell, unaware that he's going up the discharge chute for a communal latrine. We then see various men sitting in the latrine (hear a brief farting sound), one then flushes and foul looking water then flows down the pipe toward English. When he finally surfaces from the top of the latrine, fecal matter covers his head, face and jacket (and Lorna later reacts to his smell, prompting him to say it's just a bit of poo). When English later tries to shoot his gun, fecal matter oozes from the barrel. Even later, Bough surfaces through the same opening and Lorna reacts to the smell again).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Pascal and his henchmen have both for stealing the Crown Jewels and for attempting to make Pascal the King of England.
English doesn't recognize Pascal who's behind him and then talks bad about him and the French.
English lies about fighting with an assailant as a way to cover up bungling his mission of protecting the Crown Jewels.
English inadvertently disturbs a funeral (thinking it's the bad guys and their ruse) and Bough then shows up and acts as if English has escaped from the asylum and must be talked down from the casket.
English disobeys his superior's orders to stay away from Pascal.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or tense for very young kids, but all of them are played for laughs and/or action.
Bough drives a car transporter and lowers English via a crane in a sports car, but must then lift him to avoid hitting oncoming traffic (it's a close call).

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns/Machine guns/Unseen explosives/Rocket: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Fat bottomed bobby," "Idiots," what sounded liked "Monumental c*ck-up," "Bastards," "You fool," "Spent my ass," "Human scum," "Get the hell out of here," "Anywhere I damn well..." "Shut it, Frenchie," "Shut up" and "My fragrant French ass it can."
English fakes as if he's fighting a man behind a partially closed door. He then puts some ketchup on his lip to make it look like blood from fighting a made-up assailant.
A man holds a gun on the Queen and when she refuses to sign some papers, he holds it to her dog (played for comedy).
We briefly see English doing some playful pelvic thrusting in his shorts while singing in the bathroom.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A moderate mix of suspenseful, comedically suspenseful and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): A song states that English is a "stallion in the sack."

PROFANITY: At least 1 possible slang term using male genitals (what sounded like "c*ck-up"), 2 asses (used with "hole"), 2 damns, 1 hell, 2 uses each of "For God's sakes" and "God knows" and 1 use each of "My God," "Oh God," and "What in God's name?"

SEX/NUDITY: A woman shows cleavage.
A song states that English is a "stallion in the sack."
While distracted and acting as if he's checking adjacent curtains, English inadvertently frisks a woman's dress up to her rear.
Lorna wears a cocktail dress that's very low-cut in the back.
We see a man who appears to be nude (with his hands over his crotch and wearing just a jacket) who's to wear a mask for Pascal's plan. The man is then turned around and bent over and we see his black underwear and just the very top of his bare behind.
Lorna tells English that she supposes he's made love to many women. Somewhat flustered, he says that one does one's best. She then says that it's been three years since her fiancé has been gone and that she wants to say and do things to English that she hasn't wanted to do in a long time. After she says she wants to do other things for him, he then asks what sort of things and wonders if they include plastic toys and soft cheese.
Thinking the archbishop is an imposter, English pulls his robe up and his underwear down (looking for a tattoo) and we see the man's bare butt (as well as on a large projection TV display).
We briefly see English doing some playful pelvic thrusting in his shorts while singing in the bathroom.
We briefly see a few women in bikinis.

SMOKING: Miscellaneous people smoke cigars at a meeting.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: How the British monarchy works.
English disobeys his superior's orders to stay away from Pascal.
People who bungle matters despite their best intentions.

VIOLENCE: Some of the following is played in a slapstick fashion and the rest is played for comedy and/or action.
Men hold guns on English, but he grabs the guns and pushes them away (this is all a daydream).
We hear that an agent was killed (but don't see the incident).
An explosion goes off and reportedly kills other agents (we see it from a distance and don't see any of the people involved).
English twice clicks on a pen, thus sending out something that renders a nearby woman unconscious (we later see paramedics racing to her and even later see her in a wheelchair -- all played for laughs).
English knocks out the wrong man with a bottle of champagne. He then fakes as if he's fighting a man behind a partially closed door.
English falls down a recently dug hole onto Bough (who was stuck in it) and both then tumble out of it at the bottom.
English accidentally runs into something in the dark.
English and Bough hold guns on some suspects, but when English's clip falls to the floor, the men open fire on them and the agents shoot back (no one is hit).
A hearse blasts through a garage door.
English fires a missile from his car to blow up a traffic camera.
A man shoots a machine gun at English and Bough, with Bough shooting back. Other than a car, no one is hit.
English grabs Bough by the feet (thinking he's the villain) and apparently yanks him to the floor in a parking garage (we don't see the impact). We later see Bough with a bloody nose.
English trips and falls.
English's tie gets caught in a restaurant conveyor belt and he's pulled along into various other patrons.
English holds his gun on a doctor and nurses, mistakenly believing they're part of Pascal's team.
A man holds a gun on English, but he pricks the man with a ring (saying it's a muscle relaxant) and Bough then knocks the man unconscious.
A gun is held on a person.
English pricks another man with his ring, rendering that man unconscious.
Men hold guns on English and Bough, but Lorna hits both over the head with something, knocking them out.
A person is hit and knocked out.
A woman slaps English when his face inadvertently ends up at her clothed chest.
A man holds a gun on the Queen and when she refuses to sign some papers, he holds it to her dog (played for comedy).
English accidentally bumps his head on a metal lid.
English holds his gun on Pascal and others (and tries to shoot Pascal, but his gun fails due to fecal matter in it), but others then hold machine guns on him and Lorna.
Bough accidentally opens a door into English and Lorna's faces.
English knocks a man unconscious.
Lorna kicks a sniper as he's about to shoot English (we see the P.O.V. through the scope). The two then struggle and hit each other, with him throwing her and she kicking him. When we return to the scene, he pushes her into a wall and then down to the floor, but when he prepares to shoot English, she kicks him in the crotch.
Thinking an archbishop is a man in a mask, English begins tugging on the man's face and nose.
Pascal shoots at English as he swings by him. Lorna prepares to shoot Pascal, but English then falls down onto him, briefly knocking him out.
Lorna is accidentally ejected from a car, flies way up into the air and later lands in a pool.

Reviewed July 15, 2003 / July 18, 2003

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