Best Little Whorehouse in the North

We saw this film at the San Diego Film Fest. I wasn't expecting much but my partner wanted to see it. I'm glad she dragged me to it. This is a film full of humour and women's in jokes about men and sex. My partner laughed more than me (and I laughed a lot). This story had heart and that is not usual for most comedies. We cared what happened to these guys. The four lead actors were so endearing, and typically British. The girls auditioning to join the brothel was a joy to watch. My partner got hiccups she was laughing so much.

Not enough "feel good" movies around but this is one of the good ones. We would see it again when it comes our way.

I bought this film last week and enjoyed it so much that I have watched it twice since. It's rare that there is a film about women doing their own thing and in control of their lives. What makes this movie so unusual is that it is so funny. I have not laughed this much in many many years. I still chuckle when I think of some of the scenes. I checked on IMDb and I cannot believe a man wrote this script. I'm not sure if it was at the cinema. If it was, I guessed I must have missed it which is a shame because I would've loved to see this with a big audience laughing along together. My husband watched it with me the second time around. He laughed more than me and even recommended it to our friends.

Imagine a group of English women of various ages, looks and sizes all sharing one thing in common: a desperate need to make money. One of the women has an idea and the antics begin! Ian Vernon's hilarious script tells a beautiful story that is heartwarming with a refreshing twist. The ensemble is brilliant. There are no special effects here. The actors do it all!! I enjoyed the background music as it is well-suited to the comedic theme. I saw "Best Little Whorehouse in Rochdale" at the Palm Beach International Film Festival where it won the "Audience Favorite Award" in April 2012. It just won the San Diego International Film Festival's

"Best Foreign Feature Award". "Best Little Whorehouse in Rochdale" is one of those superb foreign films that you want everyone you know to see. I can't wait to see it again!!

It's hard to know what to say about this. The script feels like there was one draft. Some of the actors do any okay job with the weak script they've got, but they can't do much. The three main actresses feel like they've got good performances in them, but not for this film. A couple of the minor actors do a good job in places, but most are poorly cast and struggle in poorly-defined roles.

It all just moves too slowly and there's really very little humour in it. It relies on a certain awkwardness to be funny and that doesn't really work. Ultimately, it's boring.

The production is ultimately a one man show and that shows. It's difficult to be a good director, it's difficult to be a good producer, it's difficult to be a good writer and yet Ian Vernon spreads himself even more thinly and it shows. There's a lot of strange incompetence, like not lighting things properly, using white balance or overexposing some shots, but mostly the camera is pointing in the right direction, even if the shots could be framed better.

It's a weird film as there's an idea here that could be done well, but it just feels like Vernon was a little too sure he could write a script when he really should have got someone else. The three leads could definitely have delivered better performances if the script was there, but it just isn't. The film is also too long and I doubt anything was ever cut out.

And then I look at the other reviews. One of them gives it a 10. But has never reviewed another film - not in itself suspicious (this is the only film I've reviewed), but 10? Really? The other two reviewers give it a 9 and a 10. One of them has only reviewed two films and both are by Ian Vernon and the other has reviewed five with three of them by Vernon. What's the betting they know him?