Parting Shots

Oh, to be a film critic.

To be able to make pompous, uninformed statements about anything created by Michael Winner.

Critic I am not, neither am I a blinkered devotee of Mr. Winner, but I loved this movie.

Lots of fun from beginning to end, with Chris Rea as an understatedly bewildered and reluctant serial killer and with Felicity Kendal as his less than innocent accomplice.

Unfavourable comparisons have been made with 'Kind Hearts & Coronets' but those of us who love the Ealing comedies are by no means uncomfortable with 'Parting Shots'; it maintains a ruthless tradition.

Mr. Winner also borrows freely from his own greatest movie, 'The Jokers' (1967) in certain scenes, and the presence of Oliver Reed reinforces that sense of history.

'Parting Shots' is a very funny movie with a great cast, all of whom do their stuff excellently.

Just watched the film on tape and to be honest I quite liked it. I enjoyed all the cameo performances from many many good British actors and actresses. I don't really see what all the negative comments are coming from.OK its not Fawlty Towers or Rising Damp but as a black comedy film with no great pretensions it is perfectly watchable and enjoyable. Some VERY nice looking girls in it too,especially Nicola Bryant in all too small a role. Why this film is never seen on TV I have no idea.There is no swearing in it,a modest amount of bra and panties and little if any gratuitous over the top violence.In fact unless you have cancer the film is just a bit of fun with a 'happy' ending.

I thought that actors like John Cleese, Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg would be a recommendation for this piece. Unfortunately it's not. Only Rigg (perhaps better known as Emma Peel) is shown longer than some others. And her performance is stifled at best. It's a pity. Chris Rea is not an actor and judging from this he should refrain from an actor career. But maybe it is the sole fault of the director why this thing fails so miserably. While the story shows promise, the implementation is so shoddy that it actually hurts seeing this. Best summarized at the end of the scene where John Cleese's character closes the door after he had a painful talk with Rea. He bends over, holds his head with his hands and cries out loud: "Oh my God!" Apparently with great pain. That was really convincing and the best performance throughout the whole movie. Apart from that John Cleese is just John Cleese -- nothing more, which is good enough. The man can just withdraw himself and don't act at all and still makes himself at least bearable. The same goes for Oliver Reed. His character is a stoic killer. Reed did not even have to draw a face to deliver his part, which is good, because you can study him in one of his last roles. This movie only has these good points: you can watch the actors while they don't act at all or only give excuses for acting and see the people behind the masks. My conclusion: never watch a movie by Winner again.

Michael Winner's Parting Shots is a quite appalling, unfunny 'comedy' with the worst acting performance that you are ever likely to see. For those who think Keanu Reeves is wooden, have a look at this and see what you think of Chris Rea.

I won't go into the plot because it is so hackneyed but instead, I'll make a few observations. Firstly, the 'twist' is laughable and we guessed it during the first act. Next, the concept of a 'gun pub' is frankly laughable - the police refer to a pub in the film by saying 'that's a gun pub, isn't it'. If they knew this, why haven't they closed it down. Obviously this leads to our hero (a man with one facial expression) being able to walk into a pub and literally say that he wants to buy a gun - I don't think so.

In fact, the role of the police beggars belief - at one point, about forty arrive to arrest the perpetrator of the murders. He tells the guy in charge that it wasn't him and then evades them all by slipping out the back. If our police really were this useless, there would be mass anarchy on the streets.

Finally, it is a sad final film for Oliver Reed (who clearly looks ill). He surely deserves much better despite wasting a lot of his career. Don't be tempted by the fact that the likes of John Cleese and Ben Kingsley are in this either - Cleese reprises his role from the Sainsbury's ads while Kingsley clearly couldn't care.

Thankfully, I didn't part with any money to watch it.

More power to the genius that is Michael Winner. He is so far ahead of the game it is incredible. In `Shots' he has managed to create the first cult film of the next millennium. No one likes this film at all, but there is a huge enjoyment to be had by anyone who views it with an open mind. I for one look forward to his next movie.