The Supergrass

Great 1980s Comic Strip comedy set in the South West of England. It is a tale of sex, drugs, cream teas and murder by the seaside. Adrian Edmondson, French and Saunders, Nigel Planer (hilarious in drag) and Robbie Coltrane play a part. Dennis (Edmondson) tries to impress girlfriend by boasting he is involved in a multi-million pounds drug deal. This leads to complications with hilarious results. I am trying to find out the original picture ratio for this film but it does not appear under 'Technical Aspects' of the IMDb site. I spotted the DVD in the shop and it appears to be in 1.33:1 (full screen) format. Was the film shot in this ratio or was it originally a widescreen film with a pan and scan DVD? It would be useful to know as I hate pan and scan films. So come on IMDb. Could you find out for us?

I just finished watching this (last weekend) and found it absolutely hillarious, some of the scenes I just couldn't stop laughing at! Dennis is soooo amazingly thick sometimes, and just says the stoopidest things...but at the same time he's just being cool to impress his girlfriend (who gets arrested anyway!) The beach scenery is very tranquil...until along comes Robbie Coltrane...! Not the greatest movie ever made but certainly something to think about renting on a Saturday night when you haven't got much else to do (like I did). You might need to hunt around for it though - I was lucky, as my local video store stocks it.

The first feature-length movie by the guys from The Comic Strip,The Supergrass feels like it's just a longer episode. Adrian Edmonson's character tells a girl he's a drug smuggler(which is a lie) and gets busted by the police.They tell him if he becomes a narc(grass in British slang) they will drop the charges,so he tries to help them bust 2 smugglers played by Nigel Planer and Keith Allen. If you like The Comic Strip Presents,you will like this. I would recommend this to all fans of comedy but if you have trouble with English accents or slang, it may be hard to understand some stuff.Not to mention all the dated British pop culture references that even younger Brits would probably not get. If you think you have a good sense of humor,watch it.

This really is a great film, I have always been a fan of the early 80's alternative comedy scene, and the comic strip films were the perfect setting for this genre. Like the Young Ones, and French and Saunders, most of these comedians got tegether for the comic strip, most were made for TV movies, but The Supergrass was a full-length feature film, which if I'm not mistaken even went to the cinema? The main character is Dennis ( Ade Edmonson ) who despite being a moron, still living at home with his mother, thinks he's something he's not. Dennis tells lies in order to impress his wannabe' girlfriend, he is overheard in a pub, boasting about a fictional drugs ring, by a policeman( the ever excellent Micheal Elphick ) But, the so called drug deal by the seaside is not just a lie, the police have been trying to crack this for a long time. Dennis becomes a supergrass and gets dragged deeper and deeper into it, The trouble is he doesn't know anything, or does he.....? The Supergrass is one of those films you are still trying to work out, is Dennis just the goon you think he is, or does he know more than he'll tell? Though the Supergrass has its truly funny moments, it is added to by the terrible 80's fashion and music, which obviously was not supposed to be funny first time around. Dennis buys a horrible red leather jacket (identical to Micheal Jackson's thriller one) was this actually cool in the 80's or was it intended to be funny? The Film is made up of great individual performances, Peter Richardson, Keith Allen, Jennifer Saunders, Daniel Peacock, Nigel Planer, all put in exceptional shows of acting, and who can forget Alexi Sayle's most annoying policeman. The only thing missing is Rik Mayall. If you are a fan of British Comedy, and the likes of the young Ones etc, this is a must own film * * * *

I recall seeing this in 1985 with friends and we were all disappointed - because our expectations were too high. It's not a laugh a minute, but more of a study in black humour. Having re-seen it 34 years (eek) later it was more enjoyable. FYI - It is available on DVD hidden away in 'the Comic Strip Presents' box set.