Yellowbeard (1983)

silly pirate movie

This silly pirate movie was in my younger son's Easter basket. (Now that they've got too many stuffed animals already outgrown stuffed animals, they get DVDs for occasions like Easter and St. Nicholas Day.)

Ruthless pirate Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman) discovers that his son Dan (Martin Hewitt), on whose head he'd tatooed the map to his treasure, is an intellectual. Everyone from the Navy to his old crew is on a race to find the treasure, leading to the classic "stagger, stagger, crawl" directions.

Madeline is in her usual hilarious form as Dan's mother, and Cheech & Chong outdo themselves in silliness as El Segundo and El Nebuloso, respectively. In fact, all the vast cast of comedic actors seem to be just as amusing as usual.

So I'm not sure why it fell flat for me. Look through my movie reviews--I love silly and cheesy. The all-star cast should have done the trick, and certainly most people seem to think it worked. I think it was the plot, of which there wasn't much.

I love silly, but I need there to be a point to it. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of people running around doing silly things, and that's entertaining for a while, but then it just gets boring.

I am glad I saw it, if only so I can repeat and paraphrase those treasure map directions ad nauseum. I just would have been happier if I'd rented it rather than purchasing it.

As for the son whose gift it was, he got impatient with it before I did. I think that's because he wasn't as familiar with the all-star cast, and thus wasn't as willing as I was to give them the benefit of the doubt at the beginning... at least I think he did. He's 12. Sometimes he'll forego an honest critique in favor of scathing sarcasm just because he finds the latter more amusing. November 19, 2008

A classic parody

A great cast, original writing and a Treasure Island based parody make this movie a classic. Marty Feldman in one of his best. September 6, 2008

comedy mania

This movie is the ultimate level of the Monty Python genre, which also includes a host of other major comics, marty feldman and cheech and chong, to name a few. Their antics are beyond superlatives, the comedy is racey/saucy but genuinely funny. The sets are tremendous as is the acting, there should have been a sequel.
July 25, 2008

Cult status

All my family and many of my friends can quote chunks of this movie.Once seen never forgotten ,some lovely cameos ,David bowie as the cabin boy, Spike Milligan as the Queens Messenger a whos who of British comediens in a terrific farce.See it and love it. June 12, 2008

so funny I wet myself

Monty Python, Cast From most Mel Brooks films, And Cheech and Chong. If you're looking for in dpeth plot lines and suspense you've come to the wrong place. If you want cameos and one liners that will make you laugh so hard you'll fart, then watch this movie.
Watch for David Bowie's appearance, and make sure you watch more than once as you'll too busy laughing at one gag to catch the next. May 21, 2008

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