Much put-upon slave Lurcio (Frankie Howerd) inadvertently becomes involved in a plot to assassinate the Emperor Nero in the days leading up to the volcanic immolation of naughty, naughty Pompeii. This sniggering film-version of the eponymous TV show is essentially a string of puns, silly sight gags (usually involving genitals or other naughty bits), tit-illating glimpses of skin, and endless double entendres, buttressing a silly neo-classical sex-comedy punctuated by Howerd's constant breaking of the fourth wall. The 'adult rating' is likely more for the occasional nudity than for the humour, which is pretty juvenile and too silly to offend anyone but the most sensitive of viewers. The show is anchored by Howerd's comic-timing, facial expressions, and distinctive delivery, and for the most part, the rest of the cast exists solely to set him up. Unlike other British 'historical-farces' (Blackadder or the Monty Python films come to mind), the script is not particularly clever: character names such as 'Ludicrous Sextus', 'Nausius', 'Boobia', 'Nymphia', 'Lady Ammonia', etc pretty much illustrate the degree of 'wit' on display. All that said, the film manages to get away with being watchable, albeit low-brow, entertainment simply because it is British.
Review of Up Pompeii
