All the Queen's Men (2001)
During World War II the British army is attempting to retrieve an Enigma machine from Germany. Having failed in previous attempts they decide to send four men undercover to the factory that makes the devices, deep in Berlin. Unfortunately the factory is populated entirely by women, and they only have men to send; so these men must dress up as ladies to achieve their mission.
It’s a strange idea, and yet it was enough for Matt LeBlanc of Friends fame to team with Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo and David Birkin, for an all-out war epic, with tanks, guns, burning cities, armies, and pretty frocks.
So watching this film, we had to ask if this was or was not based on true events, and the answer is thankfully it is not; which is a pity because that might have been a good reason to make it.
As it was, All the Queen’s Men cost $15 million to make but only took $22,723 worldwide, yielding an approximate -99.92% return. They say.
It’s far from being as bad however, and is even pretty good for long periods, with a good turn from the totally reliable Udo Kier and a very funny scene in which the soldiers are taken to what they fail to recognise as a gay club.
The fact of Eddie Izzard redeems the film almost singlehandedly although sometimes he seems a bit lost in the epic scenery; in something like the BBCS’s The Day of the Triffids, Eddie Izzard really shows he has great screen acting skills.
It is a strange and nightmarish thing to see Matt leBlanc dressed as and acting as a woman. It’s hard to say if that endears him to a greater LGBT audience or not.
This movie is structured like The Dirty Dozen, or any of these WWII ‘men on a mission’ film that you may care to mention, and he is a great action actor and a highly enjoyable GI.
We know about his comic talents, so we might as well see him dressed up as a woman too; but what a STRANGE dame you make Joey; a strange lady indeed.
As do you James Cosmo; maybe even Cosmo would agree that this was never a very good idea.