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Cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Jeff Goldblum
Direction: David Koepp
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 1 hour 47 minutes
Review: From the moustache down to his character's bon vivant-isms, this is among Johnny Depp's craziest and looniest screen outings. We get an inkling of this in the opening scene, where the debonair Mortdecai (with Oxford accent on fourth gear) meets three Chinese toughs for an art deal. Mortdecai has cheated them in the past and they now intend to collect. The meeting quickly degenerates into a bar brawl and it is Mortdecai's manservant Jock Strapp (Bettany) who saves him from a premature end. And indeed, Jock (also shown to have a voracious sexual appetite) routinely saves Mortdecai's ass throughout the movie.
Johanna (Paltrow) is Mortdecai's statuesque wife who is as mortified about her husband's freakish facial fuzz as she is about their impending insolvency, despite living an unabashedly aristocratic life. He is approached by Martland (McGregor) of the Mi5 and is coerced into recovering the lost Goya. The hunt then takes him to Russia and LA. The only trouble is that there are others who will do anything to get their hands on it too. Not helping Mortdecai is the fact that the dashing Martland has eyes for the lovely and willing Johanna when he is away.
Everything, from the accents to the mannerisms of the title characters, is impeccably British to the point of parody. The film is paced well but unfortunately, a lot of the jokes fall flat. The film simmers but never really sizzles, despite moments of potential. Mortdecai's stiffly waxed moustache stays unruffled through car chases and fist fights and shades of Jack Sparrow clearly creep in many times, especially when it comes to Depp's by-now familiar sozzled-and-swaying screen routine. While the script is lacklustre, it is only Depp's talent that keeps this film afloat.
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