Clockwise

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Cast & Crew

John Cleese
Brian Stimpson

Penelope Wilton
Woman Teacher

Sharon Maiden
Laura Wisely

Alison Steadman
Gwenda Stimpson

Stephen Moore
Mr. Jolly

Joan Hickson
Mrs. Trellis

Penny Leatherbarrow
Woman Teacher

Howard Lloyd Lewis
Ted

Jonathan Bowater
Clint

Mark Bunting
Studious Boy

Christopher Morahan
Director

Michael Codron
Producer

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Critic Reviews for Clockwise

Audience Reviews for Clockwise

• Feb 17, 2013

  Hardcore Monty Python fans may be disappointed with this lightweight John Cleese vehicle, but it's an enjoyable, if unambitious, farce. Cleese draws on his Python history to play Brian Stimpson, a punctilious headmaster with a constant eye on the clock and his students. He's not the ferocious military caricature you might expect, however -- he has a sense of humor and warmth beneath his steely exterior. His students fear him, but also they also like and respect him. Stimpson is thrilled to get an invitation to helm a prestigious headmaster conference, and takes a day off to travel to the event. Alas, he makes an uncharacteristic mistake and gets on the wrong train. Determined not to be late, he scrambles for other travel options. This sets in motion a series of screwball mishaps involving police pursuit, a monastery, misguided "shortcuts" and other tomfoolery. Funny enough but, unfortunately, Cleese's main comic foil is a teen student played by a shy, novice actress with little skill and a wedge-like hairstyle that badly dates the film.
  

  Eric B Super Reviewer
• May 14, 2012

  This movie puts to test my theory that John Cleese makes any movie he's in instantly better. While John Cleese plays this dignified gentleman (as mentioned on this site's description) to perfection the movie just isn't funny at all. It's just a buildup to the speech he gives at the conference and while the speech is great, the road to get there is very bumpy. The one character that was really funny was Mr. Jolly, this guy would NEVER finish his sentences, NEVER. Granted it's a character that probably worked because he wasn't really given that much screen time whatsoever. If he had been all over the movie, his shtick would've gotten old and quick. But, at the same time, he's not featured enough to make the movie better. I'm not really saying it's a bad movie (two stars feels way too generous) but it's just not funny at all, minor a few exceptions here and there. I really wouldn't recommend this movie at all, even if you must watch every movie John Cleese has ever been in. You can do far better than this film, especially since it's 96 minutes of your life that you will NEVER get back. Think about that, at the end of your life wouldn't you have wanted back these 96 minutes to play with your grandchildren some more???
  Jesse O Super Reviewer
• Feb 10, 2011

  A scrupulously punctual headmaster in an English comprehensive school sets off for the Headmaster's Conference to deliver a keynote speech. One little slip sees him boarding the wrong train, which leads to a chain of consequences conspiring to keep him from his goal. This is one of the finest farces I've ever seen brought to the screen, written naturally enough by theatre farce-meister Michael Frayn. The frenetic energy of John Cleese in his prime really lifts this above the norm, as he hitches a ride with a student, bumps into and kidnaps an ex-girlfriend and winds up naked in a monastery. The climactic scenes at the HMC amount to perhaps the finest pay-off seen in farce. This is, indeed, a historic moment.
  Cassandra M Super Reviewer
• Feb 09, 2010

  Hillariys moive..john cleese is awesomeJohn Cleese's knack for mining hilarity from the growing frustration of a dignified gentleman is fully exploited in the British comedy Clockwise. Cleese portrays Brian Stimpson, a perfectionist English headmaster who has been selected to make an important presentation before a group of his peers. When Stimpson sets out upon his journey, however, he finds himself facing a seemingly never-ending series of delays and inconveniences, which range from missing a train to becoming a fugitive from the police. The film goes no deeper than its farcical surface, but is nevertheless consistently entertaining, thanks to former Monty Python member Cleese's precisely tuned transitions from composure to complete collapse.
  Martin D Super Reviewer

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