garry0707

Its a 1970's British comedy - what you get is a slice of comedy history, typical of its time and place, nothing more nothing less. A bit of slapstick, plenty of innuendo, very loose plot line and full of sexism, ageism and any other -ism going around at the time.

Quite simply it is Britain of the 1970's tied up in a 90 minute package. And if you are of a certain age it certainly brings a smile of nostalgia and sometimes incredulous horror. There are not many belly laughs but that's because comedy today is far more sophisticated and we like all our cinema highly polished.

Enjoy it for what it is - don't put too much onto it. After all it's not meant to be a cinema classic just a bit of a laugh.

This is an excellent piece of work - with one big fault.

Firstly this film is a brilliant study of the interaction between two very different characters, superbly played by Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell (Brendan Gleeson's Ken is by far the better character). Two characters who are united by only one thing - they are killers, even being Irish doesn't bring them closer to each other. However, as the plot develops they do bond and become almost like a comfortable married couple. This forms the most and best part of the film.

Now for the negative - Ralph Fiennes!! I couldn't believe how such a superb actor could have got his character so wrong. He was wooden, the acting was false and the character was so unbelievable. I heard the voice on the phone and thought that was awful - but when I saw who it was I was shocked. Instead of being a believable tough gangland boss, he came over as a poor parody of brick top in Snatch.

Overall excellent, acting well two out of three ain't bad!!

I have recently started watching series two. It took a little while to get into - there is a very loose plot line and the characters are not very deep - but hey it's a sitcom not a historical epic!!

After watching around four episodes, I have to admit I am hooked. This vehicle is perfect for Johnny Vegas - not like the awful "Sex Lives of the Potato Men". The scripts are witty with the odd comic twist and some of the one liners delivered by Vegas are cutting. I have just bought the first series on DVD and must admit it doesn't get into its stride very quickly, but by series two it is up and running and a must have on a Tuesday night - my wife hates it, so it definitely appeals to people who are slightly off the wall.