The Pope Must Diet
The Pope Must Diet
R | 30 August 1991 (USA)
The Pope Must Diet Trailers

A less-than-qualified and far-from-perfect priest is mistakenly named the new pope. As the pontiff, he must deal with Vatican corruption, the Mob and the reappearance of his old lover.

Reviews
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
kaljic This is a hard-to-find gem; try tracking one down in DVD. The search is well worth the effort. This is satire/farce at its very best. The movie has not garner greater appreciation due to its touchy subject matter. Or it may be the story hits a little to close to home. The story is loosely based on the disputed account of the death of Pope John Paul I. The way this account goes, Pope John Paul I was horrified at the multiple scandals occurring at the Vatican Bank, and wanted them stopped, until he died under suspicious circumstances after only being Pope for forty-five days.While this may be considered a spoiler, it actually is not. The real value in the movie are in the comic performances. Herbert Lom is at his slimiest best as the gangster kingpin in charge of the corruption in the Vatican Bank. Alex Rocco, who played Moe Green in the Godfather, is absolutely over the top as a corrupt Cardinal. The other supporting roles are simply hilarious. Robbie Cochrane is good as the bumbling priest who is accidentally elected Pope. To be honest, the performances of Lom and Rocco overshadow Cochrane's lead role. My best advice is that if you did not like Monty Python's Life of Brian, you will definitely not like this film. On the other hand, if you can get past the subject matter, the movie will give you many good laughs.
FlashCallahan A less-than-qualified and far-from-perfect priest is mistakenly named the new pope.As the pontiff, he must deal with Vatican corruption, the Mob and the reappearance of his old lover....This is one of those movies that I remember being released back in 1991, and it was something that I really wanted to see. This was a time when movies had huge adverts in newspapers, and British movies like this were few and far between. Up until this point, the only other British I remember to have a wide release was Buddys Song.So it was something that appealed to me. But I was only thirteen at the time, so it was against the law for me to see it. The the years passed, and I came across it the other night on the Sony Channel.Was it worth the wait? in some instances, yes. It's exactly what I expected, British actors looking worryingly younger, with bad fashion, and lots of innuendo.Coltrane is great as the titular holy man, and the plot is equally nineties. Richardson does write a good story, and the story is good, it's just a shame, that we have a silly sub plot involving Balthazar Gettys irritating (dubbed by the way) rock star.I know it's intricate to the plot, but it didn't have to be so bawdy and feel so out of place.Other than that, it's very funny in places, with great support from Lom, Sessions, and Edmondson, and if you are a fan of the series 'the Comic Strip' you will get much enjoyment from this.
filmbuff1970 This just isnt funny,the plot is dumb.The jokes are nowhere to be found.This movie is so bad watching paint dry would be more fun.The waste of a capable cast. The writer of this crap should be ashamed.Awful 1 out of 10
otis-10 It would be impossible to write a spoiler about this one; there's no coherent plot. Even by the standards of its low-rent cast, this one is appalling -- a complete waste of time and film. It could appeal only to crackpots and religious bigots. Perhaps it was intended to provide work for otherwise unemployable "performers"; if so, the producer has a lot to answer for.