The Pope Must Die (The Pope Must Diet) (1991)

33% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(253 ratings)

A priest discovers that being the leader of the Catholic Church can be hazardous to your health in this satiric comedy. Cardinal Rocco (Alex Rocco) and Monsignor Vitchie (Paul Bartel) are two high-ranking Vatican officials who have been using the church's business dealings to launder funds for… More A priest discovers that being the leader of the Catholic Church can be hazardous to your health in this satiric comedy. Cardinal Rocco (Alex Rocco) and Monsignor Vitchie (Paul Bartel) are two high-ranking Vatican officials who have been using the church's business dealings to launder funds for Vittorio Corelli (Herbert Lom), a crime boss involved in illegal arms trading. After the death of the aging and infirm Pope, Rocco and Vitchie plan to nominate a successor who will go along with Corelli's schemes, but quite by accident, small town priest Giuseppe Albinizi (Robbie Coltrane) is named the new Pontiff. Albinizi is a reluctant spiritual leader who prefers cars, women, and rock & roll to church business, but when he discovers the level of Rocco's corruption, he has him removed from the Vatican. Rocco and Vitchie are not taking Albinizi's plans to clean up Vatican finances lying down, and they discover that the new Pope's has a not-so-little secret. Before he joined the priesthood, Albinizi fathered a son out of wedlock with Veronica Dante (Beverly D'Angelo); the boy grew up to be Joe Don Dante (Balthazar Getty), a rock star who's romancing Corelli's daughter. After complaints from Catholic groups in the U.S., the distributors of The Pope Must Die changed the title to The Pope Must Diet. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Peter Richardson
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 30, 1991 Wide
On DVD: Feb 20, 1992
Studio: Media Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Hardly funny, but very tasteless "comedy."
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
cutting out nutrition-free films like this one might be a good start

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

I love this film. It's stupid yes but its so funny!
Ross C

An amusing story, with the best of British TV comedians cast, about an English priest who becomes Pope following a case of mistaken identity.

Cast

            Robbie Coltrane as The Pope

            Beverly D'Angelo as Veronica Dante

            Herbert Lom as Vittorio Corelli

            Paul Bartel as Monsignor Vitchie

            Salvatore Cascio as Paulo

            Balthazar Getty as Joe Don Dante

            Alex Rocco as Cardinal Rocco

            Peter Richardson as Bish

            Adrian Edmondson as Father Rookie

            Robert Stephens as Carmelengo

            Khedija Sassi as Luccia Corelli

            John Sessions as Dino

            Steven O'Donnell as Rico

            Relja Basic as Alberto

            David Boyce as Malvini

            Niall Buggy as BBC Reporter

            Annette Crosbie as Mother Superior

            Mirella D'Angelo as Chocolate Spaghetti Mom

            William Hootkins as Cardinal Verucci

            Campbell Morrison as Big Security Guard

            Marc Smith as US News Reporter

            Niall Toibin
            
            Mladen Vasary as 3rd Journalist

            Jeff Beck as Postman

            Ernest Clark as Abbot

            Demeter Bitenc as Raggio

            Branko Blace as General

            Mark Caven as Father Franco

            Matko Raguz as Newspaper Vendor

            Bozidar Smiljanic as Cardinal Spott

            Ranko Zidaric as Father Santini

            Petar Buntic as Motorcade Cop

            Sreten Mokrovic as Bank Manager's Assistant

            Damir Saban as Carlo Felici

            Ralph Brown as Doctor
See full cast