The Hippopotamus

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The Hippopotamus

Released Jun 15, 2017

1h 29m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

57%

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14 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

This adaptation of Stephen Fry's novel leans heavily on the elegant profanity of the source material.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 4, 2017

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

A towering, at times monumentally good central performance from the character actor Roger Allam stands at the heart of The Hippopotamus, but it is entirely alone.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 2, 2017

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Despite a wonderfully witty voiceover and the bullish playing of a willing ensemble, this bawdy romp consistently stumbles over its more contrived excesses.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 1, 2017

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Sarah Cartland

Caution Spoilers

Director John Jencks does a great job highlighting the cognitive dissonance resulting from the human race's uneasy blend of practicality and credulity. And Roger Allam is terrific as the self-loathing Ted Wallace, drunk poet turned drunk sleuth.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 9, 2019

Full Review

Matthew Bond

The Mail on Sunday (UK)

Sex, alcohol and a generous helping of four-letter invective all feature in a comedy-drama somewhat over-reliant on large gobbets of fruity narration and totally indebted to Allam's stand-out turn.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 10, 2017

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Jessica Baxter

Hammer Film Reviews

The rest of the supporting characters are little more than targets of Wallace's diatribes. That's not to say that the A plot lacks appeal. But Wallace is, without a doubt, the star of the show.

Aug 7, 2017

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Jeff S

Sadly, and despite the (mostly) fine cast, this was utter drivel. A silly plot, tin-eared dialogue and a lot of unfunny jokes.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/01/23

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Joe T

An anemic rendering of the book.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/24/23

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Ian W

A really odd film. I'm a big fan of Stephen Fry, but not really sure where this one is coming from. Roger Allam is perfectly cast, but can't really save it. Is the main character a faith healer or a con artist? And do we care? All is revealed in a sub-Poirot/Mrs Marple denouement. It's just really odd. 5/10. "It passed the time", yup that's about it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Paul C

Pretentious nonsense. Tried hard to see the point of the story but gave up, although I did see it to the end. I'm sure few people would have watched the film if it weren't for the cast.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/11/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Hippopotamus 14.2.21 4.5/0. I enjoyed this more than the last two films I watched, quite mesmerising. The ending had a feeling of stiltedness and a lack of closure, like an ongoing study. D.B.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Really brilliant and comic use of language. Many laugh out loud moments! Loved it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

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John Jencks

Director

Matthew Modine

Michael Logan

Russell Tovey

Rupert Keynes

Emily Berrington

Jane Swann

Geraldine Somerville

Rebecca Logan

Fiona Shaw

Anne Logan

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The Hippopotamus: Trailer 1

2:24

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Synopsis

Poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.

Director: John Jencks
Producer: Alexa Seligman, Jay Taylor
Screenwriter: Tom Hodgson, Blanche McIntyre
Distributor: Lightyear
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 15, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 29m

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