the audience applauded

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Masterpiece!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A drunk, washed-up poet is hired to solve a family mystery.The main character is a highly literate pompous old fellow struggling with his own existence. A lot of the comedy comes from him insulting people using very long words, which I found very amusing.There is not a lot to this movie. Don't expect dramatic plot twists, edge of the seat action, moving performances or fire works of any kind. But this film achieves what it sets out to do perfectly!This film is gentle, interesting, funny and quite refreshing.This is definitely a Sunday afternoon watch, but for that time slot it is perfect! Production, acting, script are all exceptional!This film hasn't tried to reach too far and it pays off dividends.Watch this after your Sunday roast with a drink for a perfect afternoon.

Despite the promising premise and cast, I found the "The Hippopotamus" to be very disappointing. Much of the 'humour' came from Roger Allam's foul-mouthed muttering and yelling. A little bit goes a long way and (IMO) incessant profanity in a comedy is usually sign of a lacklustre script (like third-rate stand-up - if you're not funny, yell 'F---' a lot and hope for cheap laughs). The story, which finds Allam's obnoxious washed-up poet "investigating" claims of miraculous cures at a country estate starts off promisingly but then degenerates into a series of embarrassing sex-sight-gags. Given that this was based on a book by the talented Stephan Fry and included some fine British comic actors (e.g. Tim McInnerny was great in the Blackadder series), "The Hippopotamus" was a real let-down.

Before even realizing it I thought that this sounded like Stephen Fry with his never ending sentences, analogies and metaphors that are neither that funny or clever for that matter. It was narrated by the lead character, but might as well of been narrated by Stephen Fry and the gist was lost in endless babble. I thought the story was more based on his atheist ideologies but probably could of worked but didn't. The characters were weak and the lead character was over dramatic and unrealistic. I have noticed, that many British shows will have quirky characters or the usual cynical grump, but instead of connecting to them, they are just over the top like a children's pantomime. I have never read the book, so have no clue how close to the story the movie was.

I liked this movie. Though there isn't any laughs nor does this movie creates any suspense but after 15 minutes into the movie you kind of hooked to know what's it really all about. Acting wise the Ted Wallace (Roger Allam) character does a reasonable job and kind of carries the whole movie on his shoulder.The voice over might not appeal to everyone but i think it gives us the perspective of the main character and what's on his mind. Overall the movie is not that bad, if you want to pass an hour and a half then sit, clear your mind and enjoy.