The Mouse That Roared

The Mouse That Roared
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/27/2008 Run time: 83 minutes Rating: Nr
Customer Review: Roaring back at the mouse
This is a very silly movie, with a terribly contrived plot, however, watching Peter Sellers play 3 different roles was very entertaining! We watched it one night when my teens were uptight & just needed a good laugh. It was certainly that! Mindless drivel, and a fun time!
Customer Review: Comedy-As-Time-Capsule, dated but charming
This is one of those goofy comedies where the lead actor egotistically plays all the parts, a genre minted by Jerry Lewis and which still exists today with people like Eddie Murphy, etc. Personally, it's not my favorite genre, but Sellers at least was a funny and intelligent actor and I'd rather watch him than Mr Murphy any day. The plot is about the H-Bomb, with Sellers playing both the scientist who invented it and the leader of the opposing army who wants it. (He also plays an old dowager Queen!) It's a time capsule back from an era when we could afford to joke about such things, and for that it's strangely comforting--as to me, most films from from the early to mid sixties are. There was an innocence now long gone, and everything just looked so good--cars, clothes, people, decor, etc. That fifties formality was still very much a part of everything. Adding to the eye-candy is a young Jean Seberg in her transition period; she had just flopped in Otto Preminger's pretentious "Saint Joan", and then made "Bonjour Tristesse" again for Preminger, to cool reviews. She had not yet made "Breathless" which was about to make her a huge star in France and revive Hollywood's interest in her as a leading lady. Playing the scientist's daughter/assistant and love interest to the enemy-Commander, Seberg isn't called upon to do much more than be beautiful and act sincere in a film in which everything is ludicrous. But like Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz," her sincerity looks so authentic that it elevates the film from a cartoon to something with a bit of a soul to it. This makes her the perfect foil for someone like Sellers, who is farcical throughout. If you like Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, or are just a fan of movies from this era, you will enjoy "The Mouse that Roared".