Forgotten 70s Comedy Is Secretly Trying To Kill You

By Robert Scucci
| Published 34 seconds ago

Here’s a little unsolicited life advice. If your wife or partner decides to leave you and you suddenly feel like you no longer want to live in this world, do not make any brash decisions. You may feel like hiring a hitman to take you out so you do not have to live another minute without your dearest love. Those feelings, while extreme, can hit hard in the moment. However, if your wife comes back and wants to reconcile after you have already paid the hitman to eliminate you, it is in your best interest to make sure you have a kill clause in your contract so he does not continue trying to finish what he started, like in 1978’s The Odd Job.

The Odd Job, more affectionately known as “the film Graham Chapman (of Monty Python fame) starred in that everyone forgets exists,” has more fun with its farcical concept and execution than its reputation suggests. It is a shame how overlooked this film truly is. Presently, it does not even have a critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even worse, it has clocked an unthinkably low 12 percent approval score on the Popcornmeter across fewer than 50 ratings.

I have seen a lot of clunkers in my day, and I am here to tell you that this movie is not 12 percent bad. It is not even 30 percent bad. I would give it at least a C+ for its willingness to build a comedy of errors around suicidal ideation, rash decision making, and the absolute chaos that follows. It is not Airplane!, sure, but it is also not The Room.

One Man’s Dread Is Another Man’s Bread

When Arthur Harris (Graham Chapman) is left by his wife, Fiona (Diana Quick), for another man, he is absolutely devastated and can think of only one solution for his pain. He is going to kill himself. After learning just how incompetent he is with a samurai sword, he attempts to build a homemade electric chair by rigging a lamp to its metal arms, with equally disastrous results. In a stroke of luck, The Odd Job Man (David Jason), who frequents his apartment building, makes an appearance looking for work.

Arthur has what he believes is a genius idea. He will pay The Odd Job Man to kill him, and call it a day. After a brief discussion about compensation, the handyman accepts the offer. Arthur has one condition: he does not want to see it coming. The Odd Job Man, now fully committed to assassinating Arthur at some unspecified time, gets to work.

Things fall apart almost immediately when Fiona arrives unannounced, telling Arthur she has made a mistake and wants to reconcile. Elated that his wife is willing to give their marriage another shot, Arthur now has one glaring problem. The Odd Job Man has already accepted payment and was clearly told at the start of this professional arrangement that he must follow through. The only “kill clause” in Arthur’s verbal agreement with The Odd Job Man is that he will be killed at some point.

Not knowing what else to do, Arthur contacts the authorities and becomes increasingly paranoid as The Odd Job Man’s assassination attempts grow more unhinged. This culminates in a live grenade tossed into a public restroom, a milkman delivery tainted with cyanide, and various other slapstick-inspired methods of annihilation, all of which prove to be unsuccessful. Never knowing when the next attempt will strike, Arthur realizes he must confront his killer before he is caught off guard and loses the life he now very much wants to keep.

A Valiant Effort From A Comedy Legend

While The Odd Job does not have a lot going for it narratively, it remains a solid feature that benefits from Graham Chapman’s physical comedy, elastic facial expressions, and willingness to fully commit to the bit. It is a farce through and through, and it is not pretending to be anything else. The characters are one-dimensional by design. How else could the film justify an intelligent, affluent man like Arthur making so many misguided decisions in such a short span of time?

You do not need big-brain energy to enjoy The Odd Job, currently streaming for free on Tubi, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is a simple assassination plot gone wrong, escalating steadily until it hits its breaking point. That is all it ever needs to be.