I had no idea what this movie was about but decided to watch
it anyway because--hey, who can resist a title like that? And it makes
you wonder what kind of woman actually has eight of those. Fine, I'm
a pervert, but what kind of a reaction does a title like OCTOPUSSY
expect to elicit?
OCTOPUSSY is one of the more absurd episodes in the
James Bond series, but then I'm pretty sure every Roger Moore effort
tips the scale of absurdness. And when the female lead is someone
named Octopussy, the absurdity springs up. The perversity seems to
spring up too, at least in a small dose, especially when Octopussy
reveals that her name was given to her by her father, who always
called her "my little Octopussy." Funny, I didn't know Jerry Lee Lewis
had a daughter.
This time, Bond is out to some some Faberge egg forgers (the
bastards!), led by Octopussy and her male partner Kamal (at least
they didn't name him Octodick). Bond meddles in Kabal's business
one time too many and ends up captive in his palace. He escapes, but
comes back a little later to get some octopussy. The two find out
afterwards that they have more in common than just compatible body
parts and, when Kabal doublecrosses her by placing the customary
atomic bomb (no Bond movie would be complete without one),
Octopussy joins Bond's side.
OCTOPUSSY has its share of good and bad scenes. Good--
the plane chase teaser, the auction scene, the train chase and the circus
scenes at the end. Bad--the other plane chase, the stuffed sheep head
dinner (which pushes the limits of good taste... Monkey brains are
okay, sheep's heads, no.) and that overlong chase through the streets of
India, culminating in one of the bad guys being impaled on a bed of
nails. "Get off my bed!" an Indian yells. A failed comic relief moment,
to say the least. Almost as bad as my Octodick joke.
Copyright © 1996 Andrew Hicks