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Based on the play of the same name, The Ruling Class is a occasionally musical comedy directed by Peter Medak, who also directed The Men’s Club, Romeo is Bleeding and Species II, oft-regarded as the sequel to the original Species. When people are thinking of films to put on their Halloween film queue, if they’re the type of weirdos who watch movies on Halloween rather than get drunk, the last movie they’d probably think to look for is a satirical comedy about the British aristocracy. Were it with any other similar movie I might have to agree with them, but I think that all in all the list I’ve put together so far works out as Halloween fare, and I think that this movie continues in that vein. Not everything you watch on Halloween has to be a dude stabbing some chick, you know. It certainly helps though.
When the 13th Earl of Gurney dies under mysterious and embarrassing circumstances (think David Carradine), his immediate family are all too eager to snatch up all the cash and estates they can carry. Before they can stick their grubby hands into the cookie jar however, they learn that Lord Ralph has left all his holdings to his estranged son Jack (Peter O’Toole), who has been living in a local sanitarium for the past couple of years. Jack is a perfectly nice and likable fellow, aside from the fact that he believes that he’s God and he’s very vocal about telling people of his holy nature. Having the 14th Earl of Gurney preaching about universal love and the casting away of possessions is completely antithetical to proper British behavior, so while his greedy uncle Charles attempts to swindle Jack’s title out from under him, the rest of his family attempts to force him out of his Messiah complex and into acting as a more respectable gentleman. A reasonable scheme, but what happens when madness gives way to more madness? If Jack no longer believes he’s a peaceful and loving God, then what sort of God does that make him? It’s bad omens abound in the Gurney household.
While I’m a little leery at 2+ hour runtime, The Ruling Class is a fine film with fairly consistent laughs throughout and surprisingly dark themes by the end of it. Peter O’Toole is a phenomenal actor, and I can’t help but enjoy it when he chews the scenery like he’s speedreading Shakespeare. The musical numbers come up at rather odd intervals, which makes me wonder why they’re the film at all, but their random appearances serve to enhance the overall absurd atmosphere. If you’ve got a couple of hours to burn this Halloween, why not consider joining The Ruling Class?
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