John Cleese Stars In South African Comedy SPUD

It's hard to find a nation on the globe whose box office is not being dominated by either Harry Potter or Tangled right now, but there are a few. In Japan it's Space Battleship Yamato topping the chart. And Finland has Rare Exports. And South Africa? In South Africa it's schoolboy comedy Spud at the top of the list.

South Africa, the early 1990s. John "Spud" Milton has embarked on his first year at an elite, boys-only private school. Cursed with parents from well beyond the lunatic fringe, a senile granny, and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has to forge a new life for himself in this foreign and sometimes hostile environment. Surrounded by names such as Gecko, Rambo, Rain Man and Mad Dog, Spud takes his first tentative steps along the path toward manhood. Armed with only his wits and his diary, Spud takes us from illegal night swimming to the cricket field, from ghost busting to teacher baiting. He also invites us into the mind of a boy struggling to come to terms with a strange new world; a boy whose eyes are being opened to love, friendship and complete insanity.

A surprising note to this one - and a sign that South African cinema is growing to the point that it can afford to bring in international stars - is that former Monty Python member John Cleese co-stars in a key role. Check the trailer below for a bit of Cleese doing what Cleese does best.