Ooh... You Are Awful

Almost every UK comedy show seemed to get a filmed version back in the early 1970s, and Dick Emery's sketch show was no exception. OOH...YOU ARE AWFUL is a film which brings the comedian's own unique brand of smut to the big screen, complete with all the saucy innuendo and cross-dressing you could hope for.

In fact, this turns out to be a rather disappointing little film, and insipid with it. The problem is that there's far too much of the complicated plotting, and very little in the actual way of laughs. The story is about a hidden fortune and the continuing attempts to retrieve it, but the problem is that a particular woman must be found with a particular tattoo on her bottom. I'm sure that's similar to a storyline in a spaghetti western I saw, and just as silly.

The acting in this film is pretty routine, with only a couple of familiar faces like that of Ronald Fraser, Pat Coombs, and the ever-nasty Derren Nesbitt enlivening the screen. Watch out for Pete Walker's muse, Sheila Keith, in her cameo as a magistrate. As with all early '70s British comedies, there's a bevy of beautiful female faces, attempts at sniggering humour, and a deep sense of time and place, but overall it's not much cop.

Dick Emery plays all of his most loved characters in this film. The plot revolves around Emery and his recently deceased former partner in crime. Eight women have tattoos on their bums which Emery has to find. It is actually a very clever and original plot. It would be ideal for a remake by Austin Powers. I have a feeling it could have been funnier though; probably by NOT including all of Emery's TV characters. Sometimes they appear in a very unnatural way.

I love Dick Emery's TV shows , but this is nowhere near the same quality.

It does start well, but soon runs out of steam, and the fact some of his regular characters are missing in action doesn't help.

Worth a one time watch, but it isn't something most people will find themselves going back to.

Just before he died Dick Emery in a television interview lamented his forays into film were not successful, commercially and critically and it was now too late.

Emery died several months later. Ohh... You are Awful is now a rare chance to see Dick Emery's comic creations as his shows are so rarely repeated.

This is a saucy caper comedy with Emery playing chirpy con man Charlie Tully who is always on a swindle which includes persuading the son of a wealthy Italian family that marriage to Princess Anne is available at a price or a dowry.

With the aid of his womanising friend Ronald Fraser they swindled £500,000 out of the Italians who have hotfooted to the Mafia for revenge.

Charlie gets arrested at the Airport as he tries to sell a bulldog to some American tourists when he meets up with Fraser after his release from prison all he knows that Fraser deposited the money in a Swiss bank account before the Mafia henchmen knock Fraser off.

Charlie needs to track down some tattoos on some ladies Fraser has had in recent months which is actually on their rear and will tell Charlie the actual bank and account number. As he tries to track down the ladies he also falls foul of a local cockney gangster.

Emery gets to play his famous comedy characters such as Mandy and Lampwick during his quest.

For non Emery fans this would just be a dated British comedy with plenty of Carry On innuendo. Some of it really feels icky. Ronald Fraser looks revolting with all those poor tattoos supposedly with the names and phone numbers of his conquests.

Only in the mind of a desperate casting agent would Fraser ever be regarded as a ladies man. Derren Nesbitt who plays the cockney gangster would had been more suitable in that role.

Emery is having a hoot playing his comedy characters but really it is not funny enough despite a decent story.

Just watching this on Talking Pictures TV Channel, its just my cuppa char as I have always loved Dick Emery.

The movie plot is totally inconsequential and only really serves as a vehicle, for some of Dick Emery's most famous and for me favourite characters.

It's absolutely yonks since I've seen his show on the box or him for that matter, it was one of my favourite TV comedies.

Of course now it is surprising that any TV channels will bother to screen it all, and the Channel even announced a Disclaimer before the film started. 'Some of the films scenes could cause offence, to modern audiences' or some such tosh was announced. Presumably to warn current movie goers of the perils of viewing, let alone heaven forfend actually enjoying a 1970's comedy film.