Known variously as Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet, Adela Has Not Had Dinner Yet and Dinner For Adela, this Czech film is very much in the vein of the Czech (or broadly Eastern European) comedies, not only of that time but through to the modern times but with a American-inspired storyline and characters. Nick Carter (Michal Dočolomanský) is actually a pulp character predating even Sherlock Holmes but he is long forgotten now. And there’s certainly a Mel Brooks vibe permeating throughout the film.
Nick Carter is a genius detective, appreciated by Sherlock Holmes and friends with Alfred Nobel. On a whim, he picks up a case assignment in Prague and that’s where the rest of the film takes place. This opening sequence is unfortunately, probably the best sequence in the film and where the film get it’s most laughs. There’s also the little tidbit of characters speaking Czech, but when they decide to go to Prague, Nick Carter has to learn Czech. That does not mean however that rest of the film is a lost cause or not capable of generating laughs.
Adela can be described as semi- unhinged. This seminess of the humour is sometimes frustrating, as is the hero’s romantic track with Naďa Konvalinková, which is perhaps a symptom of the same. One might assume from the poster that Konvalinková is Adela (she is not) and that she may have a prominent part (she does not). Additionally, she is all but sidelined in the climax and the resolution of the romantic arc is unsatisfying to say the least. The rest of the film though, a joke-a-minute affair is funny enough, though rarely downright hilarious. When the climax arrives you wish the whole film had been made at this register, as in the climax there is an burst of outrageousness that you feel has been chained for the rest of the film. The film is helped immensely by the prop work, done by Jan Švankmajer who fashions innovative gadgets. There’s particularly a hat that leads to a few brilliant gags.
Those knowledgeable about Bollywood, may see a few similarities with Abbas-Mustan’s best film, Baadshah. One sequence where the protagonist walks up a wall is present in both films. Rip-off merchants as they are, I can definitely see Abbas-Mustan lifting from this film, though how much they have (if any) is up for debate. But as it is in their best films they make the stuff they lift from better. I’ll end the review with a full-hearted recommendation for Baadshah and a three-quarters hearted recommendation for Adela.
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