All The Queen's Men (2001)

7% of critics liked it
(29 reviews)
48% of users liked it
(3,655 ratings)

A few good men are sent on a secret mission as a few good women in this comic tale of wartime espionage, loosely based upon a true story. Steven O'Rourke (Matt LeBlanc) is an American intelligence agent who, during World War II, has been assigned to obtain an Enigma machine, a special… More A few good men are sent on a secret mission as a few good women in this comic tale of wartime espionage, loosely based upon a true story. Steven O'Rourke (Matt LeBlanc) is an American intelligence agent who, during World War II, has been assigned to obtain an Enigma machine, a special encoding-and-decoding device that Axis forces have developed to transmit their most sensitive secret information. A working Enigma machine would be invaluable to the Allied cause; O'Rourke is able to obtain a machine, but Col. Aiken (Edward Fox), a British officer whose stiff upper lip sometimes overwhelms his common sense, mistakes O'Rourke for a plunderer and destroys the previous gadget, which is hidden in a typewriter. An altercation with Aiken lands O'Rourke in military prison, but he's released in time to carry out a new plan to obtain an Enigma for Allied use. A small factory has been set up in rural Germany to build the machines, which is entirely staffed by women, so O'Rourke, communications expert Johnno (David Birkin), and veteran intelligence man Archie (James Cosmo) are to infiltrate the plant disguised as women, with Tony (Eddie Izzard), an agent who moonlights as a drag performer, giving the men a crash course in looking and acting like women. All the Queen's Men also features Nicolette Krebitz as Romy, a double agent working at the Enigma plant, and Udo Kier as Lansdorf, a Nazi general. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Written By: Jeff Stockwell, David Schneider
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 14, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Nov 18, 2003
Studio: Strand Releasing

Critic Reviews

Dennis Harvey, Variety
Not bad enough to qualify as a memorable dud, multinational production nonetheless misses mark on every level.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
The comedy is nonexistent.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
What we have here isn't a disaster, exactly, but a very handsomely produced let-down.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Not only does LeBlanc make one spectacularly ugly-looking broad, but he appears miserable throughout as he swaggers through his scenes.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I can imagine this movie as a b&w British comedy, circa 1960, with Peter Sellers, Kenneth Williams, et al., but at this time, with this cast, this movie is hopeless.
Janice Page, Boston Globe
There are cheesy backdrops, ridiculous action sequences, and many tired jokes about men in heels.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Um filme que Joey, personagem de LeBlanc em Friends, certamente poderia ter protagonizado.
Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs
Weak in parts, but should please Eddie Izzard fans.
Marshall Fine, Journal News (Westchester, NY)
There is more than one joke about putting the toilet seat down. And that should tell you everything you need to know about All the Queen's Men.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Ruzowitzky has taken this mothball-y stuff and made a rather sturdy, old-fashioned entertainment out of it.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
It all feels like a Monty Python sketch gone horribly wrong.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Fails to satisfactorily exploit its gender politics, genre thrills or inherent humor.
, E! Online
This ostensibly comedic film contains absolutely no funny moments whatsoever and is basically a war flick that fails to provide any sense of urgency, suspense or concern for the good guys' well-being.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A horrible, 99-minute stink bomb.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Maybe LeBlanc thought, "Hey, the movie about the baseball-playing monkey was worse."
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Afraid to pitch into farce, yet only half-hearted in its spy mechanics, All the Queen's Men is finally just one long drag.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The pacing is often way off and there are too many bona fide groaners among too few laughs.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

This film is very silly but really very funny! I haven't laughed so consistently through a film in ages!
vieras e

If you can get past the incredibly bad beginning, it's actually not too shabby. Well, ok, it is...but Eddie and Udo make it bearable.
FanGirl B

If you like Eddie Izzard you have to see this film.