Spod-3

I file this in the same category as Death at a funeral and A few best men: a nominally funny premise where the comedy is shoveled on with a trowel in a 'quantity equals quality' approach. Stephan Merchant's lines in particular are so cringe-worthy that after the 10th faux pas you know he's going to say something offensive every time he opens his mouth so there is no shock value left. Rafe Spall seems to be treating this as a movie-length episode of 'Pete vs Life'. This is a British film but it has all the hallmarks of a typical U.S. gross-out comedy, and all the shortcomings of that genre too. If you don't believe in the characters as real people then the comedy becomes like watching a cartoon. Be warned: if you have seen the trailer, then you have seen all the best lines in the film.

It's a pity the interiors and set design were so good-looking on this film, as it all was a waste. Hoffman and Rickman give hammy performances, and the overall pace is s..o s..l..o..w.. that it could have been edited down by a good hour without losing anything of consequence. It's like staring at a pretty garden... it looks fine, but 2 hrs later it's just damn boring. I'm told, if you hadn't read the novel first the whole film is fairly incomprehensible, and being in that position, I would agree. However even my friends who had read (and liked) the book thought the film was just awful. In my 'boredum' ratings this would score equal with 'Rosetta'.

Many people have been disappointed by this movie as it was misleadingly shown as a sort of broad comedy in the trailers, even though Anderson is not known to make that sort of film. If it's a comedy at all, it's quite a black one, and much of the humour is wry to the point of being imperceptible. I sat through this without once even feeling like laughing, and there are some quite downbeat moments as well. I think most people would be advised to avoid this unless they have seen Anderson's previous films like The Royal Tenenbaums and enjoyed them. It's certainly not a film with wide appeal. That said, at least it's interesting, in an un-Revenge of the Sith-like way.