Splitting Heirs

Directed by Robert Young, Splitting Heirs follows Eric Idle’s Tommy Patel as he discovers that he’s actually the heir to a wealthy aristocratic family – with complications arising after Rick Moranis’ Henry Bullock makes his own claim on the title. The degree to which Splitting Heirs slowly-but-surely peters out is ultimately rather disappointing, as the movie boasts a fun, briskly-paced opening stretch that’s heightened by legitimately funny bits of comedy and typically strong work from its various performers – with, in terms of the latter, Idle and Moranis’ affable efforts matched by an agreeably eclectic supporting cast that includes Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and John Cleese. It’s a shame, then, that the picture eventually progresses into an increasingly tedious and repetitive midsection that contains little in the way of compelling attributes, as Idle’s screenplay leaves the various characters with little to do aside from plot and scheme their way through an erratic, episodic narrative – with the movie’s distressingly tedious atmosphere compounded by an almost total lack of genuine laughs. By the time the frenetic yet entirely underwhelming climax rolls around, Splitting Heirs has certainly cemented its place as a short-yet-not-short-enough comedy that squanders the good will afforded by a successful first act.

*1/2 out of ****