User reviews

I'm a pretty big fan of the Python guys, but I have to admit I haven't managed to see everything, and have not always liked everything I've seen. But when this movie came on tv as a complete surprise, it turned into a suprrise treat for me. I can't comment on the original dialog since I had to settle for a German dubbing (the infamous "synchronization"), which may have actually ameliorated the movie, but I laughed consistently, even at slapstick moments where I wouldn't have thought that I would have laughed. All in all I enjoyed myself thoroughly, despite the fact that poor Bernie Kopell seemed doomed to play a character utterly reminiscent of his role as Siegfried in the eternally ridiculous (and sometimes hilarious) Get Smart. In the end, good must triumph, but getting there can be funny as well as fun. I thought it was well worth the trip.

"Missing pieces" is just one of those movies that you know isn't a masterpiece, but still can't help not to watch :) It is light comedy, with pretty good plot, entertaining and full of gags.

Monty Python fans won't be amazed by this display of Idle's talents, but together with Wuhl they make good pair of "losers" that seek there own breakaway from their current lives when they start to run after "it".

This movie is somehow great fun to watch with good performances from Eric Idle and Robert Wuhl. If you've enjoyed Idle in "Nuns on the run" this movie shouldn't disappoint you.

This is one of my favourite films.Eric Idle (Of Monty Python fame) and Robert Wurhl (Probably best known as TV's Arliss) star as a mismatched couple,Wendel and Lou in this mystery-comedy caper.Don't take this seriously!DON'T EVEN TRY!To give you how rididculous the plot is here are some of the characters:a one-handed kingpin,a lawyer who suffers from dwarfism,and twin brothers,one a crazed photographer and the other a mild-mannered antique dealer. One of Wendel's many former foster parents,Mr Hu,dies,and his lawyer (The dwarf) gives Wendel his inheritance.A riddle.Wendel and Lou (His cello-playing best friend) soon realise the riddle isn't Hu's heirloom,just the key to FINDING Wendel's inheritance.But they are pursued by several infavourable characters, almost all of whom want them dead. This film I find side-splitting, but if you don't like slap stick humour there won't be too much value in this for you.

It's no surprise that this comedy written and directed by Leonard Stern sat on the shelf for 6 years. Presumably conceived as a buddy picture of attracting opposites, complete with theme song written by composer Marvin Hamlisch as a country ditty High Energy and sung by Eric Idle and Robert Wuhl, I only laughed once during the entire running time. Stern favours sight gags, making Idle clumsy and giving inanimate objects like folding out beds animation, and Wuhl his straight man, all Jewish angst, looking into or hitting the camera with his head. Both men are given romantic interests, with Idle inexplicably getting Lauren Hutton, and it's unclear whether Stern's careless lighting of Wuhl is intended to undermine his hunk appeal or just incompetence. The title stems from the plot setup where Idle inherits the most sought after art treasure in the world, so of course he and Wuhl are not alone in seeking it's location. The clue is in a puzzle left by Idle's adopted father, a Mr Hu (you can guess that gets it's worth of Abbott and Costello gag lines) who has left a riddle - "What is it they sent there yet it never went there? They sent it back because it didn't go there". The clumsiness if this is indicative of Stern's writing, which also includes Idle hiding in a vat of wine and coming out drunk, Idle and Wuhl wearing multiple layersof clothing to flee a landlady, their car being bumper hooked onto a bank robbers getaway vehicle, and Bernie Koppell styled like Adolf Hitler. Stern gives Wuhl a cello but no payoff, only an obvious joke when Bob Gunton as an interested party has him play while negotiating a threat, and a climactic double fight where there is never any doubt about the outcome. The conclusion is possibly less triumphant for the audience because the victory is so slight. My one laugh was Idle running in the opening sequence, taking someone's drinking cup, and spitting out coins.