I Want Candy

I went to see this movie with few expectations, reasoning that even if it was awful there would be lots of pretty people to look at. It was actually really entertaining and genuinely funny throughout, and in lots of different ways. The posters make it look like it will be a soft porn romp, but apart from a few underwear shots, its all very clean. I wouldn't necessarily say take your mother, but it is a very enjoyable film. You really get a feel for the characters, and it is the interactions between them that really makes the film what it is, even with the minor characters, Crook in particular plays a great role as the hippy-ish, pretentious college teacher, who even though he pops up rarely in the film steals the scene every time. Even Carmen Electra, who you wouldn't have thought of as a dialog actress puts in a really believable performance as a the porn star with both a brain and a heart. It's not often I laugh out loud at a film but I did at this,lots. Give it a try and you'll be amused, especially in what is a fairly poor week at the box office.

I Want Candy is all about two young film makers, Joe and Baggy, who are striving to get their moving making career off the ground. However they soon find out that its more difficult getting into the trade than expected and hence chance their arms at the adult film industry. The two personalities of the characters are completely different - one confident and good at talking himself out of situations, the other naturally more reserved who comes out of his shell as the film progresses. Both though are played with amiable gusto by the two actors and there is plenty more people you'd recognise - Mackenzie Crook stars as a lecturer desperately trying to fit in, Felicity Montagu and Phillip Jackson enjoy their roles as Joe's staid parents and Jimmy Carr has some nice lines as the local video shop cashier - oh, and of course Carmen Electra. Though not laugh out loud funny, the comedy gently bubbles along and there's lots of good lines to be had which make you chuckle to yourself. Also, for a supposed 'sex comedy' the scenes are performed tastefully and there's probably only one scene that would have made it into an American pie-esquire film, involving an unlucky cameraman. Yes, the film has stereotypes, from the Eastern European sound guys to the gangster bosses and the first 20 minutes seem slightly slow, but there's lots to like about this film. The actors gel nicely with each other, the laughs from the different situations are plentiful and its a genuinely good British comedy that keeps you entertained.

Released between 300 and Mr.Bean's Holiday, this British production never really had a chance at the Box-Office despite a clever plot, amusing trailer and presence of sex siren Carmen Electra. The film didn't score to well with critics either, comments such as "It's a dire sex comedy" and "a crude, leering poorly timed farce" where pretty much commen place. Still is the film bad enough to warrant a battering on all fronts (no pun intended)? The answer is no. The plot is a clever enough little idea, two geeky film students in attempting to sell a film pitch end up agreeing to make a porn flick for the wrong people. They are offered the service of Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra) the worlds most famous adult film star, but even with this supposed blessing, they still have to defeat the obstacles that include suspicious parents, a lack of cash and their general inexperience behind the camera. I want Candy is still waiting on a US release and so marks one of few films we get first. The film is heavily flawed but there's a charm that carry's this picture and despite being a movie with more sex toys, lesbian love scenes and innuendos than you can count it's really quite good natured. The young cast are pretty solid and whilst I don't expect to see either Tom Burke or Tom Riley become the next Hugh Grant, both might just manage in this business. Both convey a sense of excitement and dread concerning their problem, but overall the balance really feels quite nice and realistic. More often than not we are encouraged to laugh at the pratfalls Tom and err...Tom find themselves drawn into. That grows harder as the picture goes on, indeed the audience felt a lot of sympathey for the two lads on more than one occasion, and that can get in the way of belly laughter. Electra doesn't really have any acting chops to stretch but the former Baywatch babe is a likable candy, a women who despite her career and physical attributes is intelligent and something of a film buff. In many ways Electra grounds the picture and offers as many good jokes as anybody else, probably around half a dozen or so. Pirates Of The Caribbean star MacKenzie Crook offers up a few decent chuckles as the boys teacher, and Jimmy Carr manages a neat cameo as a dodgy video store clerk. The script is a bit hit and miss particularly during the middle section of the movie, I found myself laughing more at the beginning and end. That's not so say the script isn't inspired in sections, I really was caught off guard by several of the gags but to many jokes where predictable and a fair bit of the material feels recycled. Director Stephen Surjik who directed the second and vastly weaker Wayne's Worlds should be pleased enough with the final outcome, it matches anything else on his CV in terms of quality. The production looks pretty cheap and I expect the explanation for this is also the simplest. The film can't have been made on a mega budget, indeed with US release still uncertain it's fair to say the amount of money pumped in could well be miniscule. The cinematography is weak and the film looks made for T.V, which will always distract no matter how sharp a script the film boasts. The film is bound to have a lot of people recoiling in their seats as the cringe inducing scenarios pile up. Having to listen to your mum and dad having sex whilst your locked in their en suite may be bad, but thats only a fraction of the embarrassment the boys have to suffer. Last year I watched a movie called The Moguls which starred Jeff Bridges and had a similar plot to this project. I Want Candy emerges as far the better flick, and so anybody who got a kick out the first film will almost certainly enjoy this one.

I Want Candy is a smutty farce about two film students who are supposed to make a 2 minute short for their college project but instead end up making a hardcore porn film starring Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra) at one of their parent's home.

Tom Riley and Tom Burke have early roles, Burke looks almost unrecognisable as the fresh faced wannabe director. Both are likeable as the naive young men who want to break into movies.

Eddie Marsan stands out as the thuggish producer who does not want to make art. He wants to win the Golden Cock awards.

The film is not as raunchy as the publicity implies. It is a little rude, predictable and also uneven.

This film brought back memories of the short time I spent in film school when also I had thoughts of my crew and I making it. Of course real life intervened. I was thoroughly entertained and transported back to my twenties. Thanks.