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Sex Lives of the Potato Men (2004)
Could this be one of the WORST BRITISH MOVIES EVER MADE? Answer: YES.
Mackenzie Crook and Johnny Vegas are bright young things. Both possess sharp wits, that certain everyman likeability, and an obvious comic timing that lends itself well to acting - pity then that they've got such embarrassingly dire material to work with here. And I mean DIRE. And EMBARRASSING.
The plot mainly resolves around Dave (Vegas) and Ferris (Crook), two inept potato deliverymen who after being dumped by their respective lady friends embark on a simple quest to get as much S-E-X as possible. Along with their mate Tolly (Coleman) and boss Jeremy (Gatiss), they believe sex is an antidote to their pathetic, uninspiring, dull-as-dishwater existence.
** START SPOILERS ** As Dave organizes a threesome (and then a crude gangbang) with his ex-partner, Ferris is literally raped by his mother in-law in return for free board, Jeremy goes on to kidnap his former girlfriends dog in an act of revenge and Tolly encourages the usage of jam and fish paste when romping with simpleminded prostitutes. ** END SPOILERS**
And. That. Is. It. Frankly, this film is eighty-odd minutes of boring, childish OFFENSE.
This film tries so hard to be Dumb And Dumber or Kingpin: a clever, witty, inventive example of cinema crudeness. In comparison, Sex Lives of the Potato Men is one of the dumbest, nastiest, crudest and most unamusing films ever committed to celluloid.
It really is that bad. How on earth a film/script/story of such obvious shortcomings was green lit in the first place (with a budget of more than THREE MILLION POUNDS!!!!) is anyone's guess.
Heads should roll when a film as bad as this is released. An utter disgrace to the floundering British film scene.
Janice Beard 45 WPM (1999)
A half decent britflick. Worth a rent.
Having just watched this film for the first time on Channel 4, I was compelled to leave some feedback for others to read...
Rhys Ifans...This guy is quickly becoming the Welsh Tom Hanks. He's been in more crumby movies than he should have, but every time he gives a first rate performance (excluding his OTT drug dealing character in, '51st State'). His doesn't let down here. A sterling performance coupled with an excellent London-ish accent. Good job.
Eileen Walsh (I) doesn't really have the strong presence needed to carry off her leading role with vigour. But she does have a certain endearing charm that one can't help but get attached to whilst she navigates her journey. Pretty good.
For some reason, this movie goes from well shot cinematic sequences, to borderline amateurish looking set pieces and locales. Some scenes are lit poorly (not enough to disgust, but slightly annoy) and the camera seems static at times. Like I said, this won't be noticeable to all. But to someone who's studies the art of film; it's a slight let down. From hero to zero in a few frames...a bummer but not the end of the world.
The actual story isn't particular strong, or witty. However, a bucket load of decent English actors carry the film through to its very quick conclusion (only 81 minutes long!?!)...Others performances are solid and keep the ship afloat.
Overall, I was just impressed Channel 4 had given a low budget English movie some coverage. Films like this usually get made and then disappear with out a trace. We Should thank Channel 4 (or Ifans latest role in, 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands') for tonight's showing.which on reflection, was well worth the effort.
Laterz all.