Dog Eat Dog

While this has the reputation of being a film with a mostly black cast this is not the case. The cast contains a mixture of black, Asian and white actors. It stars All Saints' Melanie Blatt (who is Jewish) and she is very good in this (her dog is hilarious!). It also features John Thomson from the Fast Show (who has a funny cameo) and Trevor Peacock from the Vicar of Dibley. Gary Kemp is brilliant as a dog loving drug dealer and probably has the best lines in the film. There are a number of laugh out aloud moments in this picture and one shouldn't get hooked up on racial issues. It's just a pleasant, witty, amusing and non-offensive comedy and should be viewed as such.

As a long term Gary Kemp fan I was at first looking forward to this and then as I read more about it starting to dread watching it. The reviews had me believe that this was gross-out comedy at it's worst. Don't believe it. It's actually okay. The cast is mostly black and mostly unknowns. Gary Kemp and Alan Davies are probably the only two "household names" in the piece although there are short appearances from a few character actors well known on British TV. The plot centres around a group of hapless youths who in an attempt to make a quick buck try to kidnap a rich authoress prize pooch, but end up stealing Kemp's (a local drugs lord) instead. The caper that follows involves them with Davies trying to "sting" Kemp's character, Jesus.

The cast are all good and strangely likeable although I think they missed an opportunity here. The movie as I said casts young, black unknowns which is a step forward, but it turns into only a step sideways as they turn into small time crooks etc. It might have been more interesting to have them "normal", but then that would not have made much of a movie I suppose. Kemp and Davies do provide the star quality and although this might not be on a par with Kemp's best movies, it's certainly more watchable than I thought it was going to. And Derek is just a great name for a dog!

LJ

I found this to be a really memorable film. I was a black twenty something struggling to make it in London at the time and it hit closer to me that I would of liked it too. I felt that its strengths were the outrageous characters that were essentially spoiling the lives of 'normal' people. The film spends the whole while building up the problem as these youngsters get themselves deeper and deeper into trouble. Doing things that "I really would not do" to get themselves out. While I normally don't like that sort of formula, for me, in this film, it really worked. I thought that it was so funny. Not a high brow film, but really enjoyable, I whole heartedly recommend seeing it, particularly if you are black from London and are a guy.

Unoriginal and insulting to real London lads, I'm sure looking at the so called London underworld through rose coloured spectacles is all well and good for posh university types who don't have a clue but it's not really saying anything new. If your gonna make a funny gangster film at least try to tell a believable story with funny lines not just a film showing stupid situations. Must Try Harder

Films like this are essential teething projects for new talent, looks like one writer (and main character) has gone on to direct a lot of TV, so it paid off.

It was clearly a modest budget film and it is a little inconsistent, but it's well-intentioned good fun, and can be enjoyed for what it is. It's of its time, of course, and nobody will call it the crown of their career, but it's a film that got made competently and gave people a start/leg-up.

Some of the cast have gone on to do some bigger stuff, too.