The Comedian's Guide to Survival

Not sure why bad reviews this is worth a watch It's different , lots of wanabe comedians don't like this is likely the case

The Comedian's Guide to Survival portrays a man struggling to succeed in one of the world's toughest industries, Stand-up Comedy. That man is James Mullinger, who is wonderfully played by James Buckley of The Inbetweeners. Buckley's comedic charm is complemented by a sense of vulnerability allowing the audience to join him on a seemingly empathetic (and hilarious) journey. Buckley delivers an excellent performance here.

The lead breaks the fourth wall in a very unique way, allowing the film to poke fun at the "breaking the fourth wall" technique. This film will surely appeal to more than just the aspiring stand-up audience as the core themes of persistence, hard work, and building strong relationships shine through.

The film's message is clear that stand-up comedy is not a profession you simply "fall into", rather an uphill battle of practice and timing that creates experiences you will not soon forget. You will certainly not forget The Comedian's Guide To Survival.

It's difficult to know where to start with the list of things that are wrong with this movie.

As any comedian should know (but many don't!) simply splattering your act - or the script - with expletives is not necessarily funny. Maybe it was back in the early days of Billy Connolly but you hear this every day in the playground (alas) so it's lost any shock value (which it relied on rather than comedic value). And the rest of the (non-expletive) script just isn't funny.

The lead is as bland and as uninspiring a character as you can imagine and his persona doesn't change on stage. It's based on a book by said comedian so no wonder I haven't heard of him.

This might appeal to some comedians on an intellectual level (that is, they can see the truth in some of what happens) but if you're looking for proper laughs, guffaws or even advice you'll need to look elsewhere.

The funniest thing about this film is how it just doesn't work, despite the presence of some of the best British comedy talent available. Clearly made very cheaply - the US material is obviously shot in the UK doubling for the US - the script misfires and the casting doesn't work, this is pretty much as disastrous a film as it can get. Avoid like the plague.

Where do I begin? The Comedian's Guide to Survival literally had me howling from start to finish, James Buckley puts in a tour de force performance as up and coming comedian James Mullinger, trying to find his footing in the world of stand up comedy, whilst balancing his day job from his demanding boss. Coming to a cross-roads, James must choose between his life long passion of stand up comedy, or losing his job entirely. This movie follows the life-affirming real life journey of comedian James Mullinger, and will have you smiling from ear to ear, with hilarious one liners, and a refreshing take on the "movie about comedians genre" Any movie that has the line "...Chowing down on a lot of producer dong!" is certainly worthy of your time. Highly recommended!