Mistakenly elected pope, pudgy Robbie Coltrane makes sweeping Vatican reforms, but he has already fathered a rock star (Balthazar Getty) by an old flame (Beverly D'Angelo). The mob, desperate to control the Vatican's monies, ousts him. The original theatrical title of this surprisingly serious satiric farce, The Pope Must Die, must have been offensive to some, and the new moniker, corpulent Coltrane notwithstanding, is appallingly stupid.
Despite some surreal moments of pitch-black comedy, the movie is neither as hilarious nor as corrosive as it's meant to be. The filmmakers, wishing to repeat the modest success of Coltrane's Nuns on the Run, are far too coy, with the result that the shoes of this fisherman become concrete. D+
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