Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: Italo Zingarelli
Starring: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Joe Bugner, May Dlamini, Dawn Jurgens
From: Zadar Film/Denver Film Productions
I actually posted this review on Letterboxd 48 hours ago; I've been too busy since then to see anything or even post it here until now. Hopefully from this point there will be more normalcy for me:
Yes, I did choose this due to its title. Amazon Prime has a number of Hill/Spencer movies available for free if you are a member; such a title (which isn't far off from the literal Italian title translation of I'm With the Hippos) stands out, along with the African setting. It's not mentioned in the movie or credits, but several sites said that it was South Africa, which I am sure was a nice shoot, the majesty of the savannah, the unique culture, being up close with many exotic animals... if only there wasn't that whole Apartheid thing...
Anyhow, the setting is a few decades before 1979; Hill and Spencer are related (but of course) and they work together, although they often disagree. They do battle against Ormand, a vile white European who is not only stealing land from villagers, he either poaches animals or sells them to zoos; indeed, the commentary against colonialism is implied. It will be easy to root for our heroes as they engage in “animal liberation” (to quote the title from a film clip that someone put on YouTube; no comment on that thorny topic) and support the natives to the point that in one scene, Spencer drives a bus through a village and stops there so people can get out and purchase items from the villagers. Our heroes run a safari but don't worry, those on the trip don't know that the guns are filled with blanks instead of real bullets.
There are cartoony moments and it is quite silly... that said, I am sure I could say this for all the Hill/Spencer joints: their charm is a big asset. There's slapstick violence aplenty and subplots such as gambling, three-card Monte and the most conspicuous jailbreak ever. Much of the movie is pretty genial; to list an example, one scene has Bud singing with a group of children-and it's his own singing voice instead of the dubbing that I otherwise expect to come out of his mouth-the ditty Grau Grau Grau; whether or not you like the tune, expect to hear the melody on several occasions.
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