Anuvahood

I'm a hard one to make laugh. The Hangover...meh. Shaun of the Dead...OK. Admittedly there are better crafted films, cleverer, snappier, whatever. I don't really like comedy that tries to be too intelligent. What I love is silly, leave your brain at the door, and just make me forget all my workday stress. I like to LMAO. And this doesn't disappoint, AT ALL.

I had read reviews...all of them suggested I shouldn't bother watching this. But being the perverse creature I am, and almost in a way WANTING to put it down (I'm a huge fan of the Noel Clarke hoods)I announced last night (to groans) that this was the evening's viewing. I'm so glad I did.

Being a 40-something (yeah, that'll surprise your "not for the over-30s" crew) middle class parent of teenagers, I'm already well used to the street slang, and in this film, every single tiny nuance of the culture and language is used to send itself up - brilliantly. Not much of a story, not much of a plot - it doesn't matter. Listen to your own kids speaking to their friends; look at their text talk. It's all here and ridiculed...but in a loving way.

Well done Adam Deacon; this was a great debut. It ranks up there with 4 Lions for me. And the next time I have an absolute b****** of a day at work, I might just watch it again ;)

The African Traffic Warden is one of the funniest things I have seen in forever. Kudos.

Watching Anuvahood, it becomes clear very quickly that Adam Deacon the director was trying to make a British version of Friday, the classic American 'ghetto' comedy. Almost every aspect of the film has been influenced by Friday; for example the theme tune of the neighbourhood bully in Anuvahood is basically the same as the one in Friday but with a beat added to it! However, it doesn't come anywhere near to the brilliance of Friday, not even close! The main problem is that in Anuvahood all the main characters are played so stupidly over-the-top for the whole film (watch it and you'll understand). If you're looking for clever, subtle humour then look elsewhere.

Having said all that, Anuvahood does have its moments and overall it was quite entertaining (it is undeniably a unique and quirky film); some bits are VERY funny (my favourite was with the African traffic warden!)and it has some truly disgusting bits (one involving ketchup and feet).However, for most of the film I wasn't laughing, just thinking "Friday is so much better than this."

One more thing; if you're not familiar with the slang of the 'gangsters' in London, definitely don't bother coming to see it!

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Kenneth (Adam Deacon) likes to try and play the big man, but his front usually gets dashed pretty quickly. Unable even to hold down a simple job at a super-market (Laimsbury's!), he takes abuse from his mouthy mum who's fallen behind with payments and having trouble from the bailiffs, and has to duck and cover from the hyper hard man on the estate who's out to put him down. Until a chance encounter dealing some stolen weed brightens his prospects a bit, as well as making a new friend in a Spanish relation of his uncle's. But it's all building up to go wrong, leading Ken to a final showdown that will test his will as a man.

Kidulthood and Adulthood have become cult films of their time, high-lighting the modern 'urban street culture' a lot of the modern youth follow, in particular the fashion sense and slang. So Adam Deacon, star of both films, is in a good position to make a film sending them up. Which is why it's so surprising the result is such an amateurish effort, that fails where something like Ali G Indahouse worked. Both of Noel Clarke's sink estate dramas aimed to pull no punches and dive into the unflinching underclass of 21st century Britain. This meant that, while good films in themselves, they were mostly quite downbeat, grim viewing. So it was welcome that the next 'hood' effort would be a more light hearted affair. Sadly, you can see most of the jokes coming a mile off, and too much of it feels forced and over the top, with inconsistent characters, including a villain like Wesley Snipes from Demolition Man on steroids, and some random, pointless characters being introduced and then never heard from again. That's not to mention most of the dialogue being spat out so ridiculously loud and fast you'd do well to pack some Alka Seltzer on your trip to see it. A disappointing mess. **

Many would claim that the mark of good filmmaking, or of any art, is some kind of subtext; a message being expressed by the artist that requires some sort of analysis, some level of thought or investigation on the part of the viewer. This message may not be one the viewer agrees with, but it is always something that stirs the mind and creates a debate. It would be all too easy to claim that Adam Deacon's "Anuvahood" is devoid of any artistic merit not only due to its lack of any subtext or discernible intelligence, but also because it lacks narrative fluidity, realistic character development and any real purpose beyond exploiting its niche target audience and pilfering their cash at the box office.

This film has not had a good reception. "The worst film of all time." "America gets Scorsese and DeNiro. We get Clarke and Deacon." Film critics loathed it. They walked out en masse at preview screenings. What's the betting that the majority of them were white, middle-class and considerable past the age of 20? This is not to say that I myself am none of these, but merely that films like Anuvahood have a very clear target audience, and to classify that audience as unintelligent or unworthy of entertainment is patronising and small-minded. No, what is needed to enjoy this film is not to be a member of this niche, but simply to have an appreciation of cultures other than your own. The cameos by urban British musicians, references to grime tracks, humour based on obscure slang and scene in-jokes. This is not a level of humour to be hated because it's juvenile or moronic. These same sorts of surreal references are made in plenty of respectable sitcoms and comedies. Those who choose to criticise a piece of entertainment so clearly not targeted at them simply don't understand it. I'm sure many young black people from urban areas will feel no connection or respect for Anuvahood, but that's because the target audience is not "black people" or "teenagers" or "city folk", it's a culture; those who love grime, UK funky, channel AKA, the Jazzie Show, Kidulthood, SBTV, Sidewinder, Eskimo Dance, speaking in slang, cotchin in the blocks. If you don't know what any of that meant, then this film was not for you.

Do you critics not remember a time where your parents would bang on your door and ask you to turn that rubbish down? When they didn't understand what it was that made youth culture vibrant and exciting to you? When you grew up and the art you enjoyed in your youth became respectable with time and seemed superior to contemporary popular culture? Elvis' movies were awful. Clunky dialogue, wooden performances, weak narratives. A Hard Days Night and Yellow Submarine were hardly moments of cinematic triumph. But these films exist as documents of a time where the youth were excited and creative and made and enjoyed art that reflected their lives and sensibilities. The Beatles were told to cut their hair and turn it down. Elvis was told to stop being so goddamn sexy and sinful. Now Adam Deacon is being told to speak proper English and make a film about something film critics can relate to. Maybe for Anuvahood 2 we'll see him living in Hampstead and attempting to become a Guardian columnist to disastrous effect, or opening a vegan café in Primrose Hill so he can afford a holiday home in the Lake District.

That is all.

Anuvahood is an Urban Comedy film Directed by Adam Deacon. <-- (His First Full Length Film) This film is about a boy named Kenneth (call him 'K') Fletcher. He has just left his job and now wants to be a respected gangster & rapper, soon he realises that he's just another wannabe bad boy… Basically a Wasteman. It's starring Adam Deacon, Femi Oyeniran, Jazzie Zonzolo, Ollie Barbieri, Richie Campbell, Michael Vu, Will Johnson, Ashley Walters, Paul Kaye, Eddie Kadi, Richard Blackwood & Jocelyn Jee Esien.

SLIDER'S REVIEW:

From the title "Anuvahood" meaning Another Hood) don't go thinking that is going to be like Kidulthood or Adulthood. I thought this was going to be a parody but it's nothing like that, it's a funny comedy that does its job to entertain and it doesn't take itself too seriously (and neither should you). All the actors/actresses did their best to bring the audience to laughter and a good job I think they did (lots of LOL moments). As this is Mr Deacon's first film he's directing and acting I will happily give him a B+ for effort. This film does resemble the one of 'Friday' (ice cube film) because I have seen story lines like this before. Anuvahood is just the UK having a go at something similar.

The humour been displayed is wild and exciting every opportunity they had to throw in something remotely funny they did. Every new character comes with their own aura that added to the comedy. Even the serious scenes had a way of keeping it light & not too heavy.The slang (lots of it), dress code, music and cinematography all fits in well together, it's really London like but the problem with that is it's going to feel like it was made for a specific target audience. Some people from other parts of the country/world may not understand it (hopefully they will).

Adam Deacon does brilliantly as K, he was a believable actor who life on the estate went from bad to worse. He was able to make the audience laugh and be on his side at the same time. His bestfriend TJ (Zonzolo) does his best to make us laugh but had the over the top sort of feeling in some scenes. You have to keep watching to understand Tyrone's (Campbell) funniness, he is loud, fast talking & in your face at first but then when he gets in his strides he was pure comedy to watch. Bookie (Oyeniran) was also an enjoyable character to watch, all you needed from him was a barrel of assault at K to make you laugh. I for one was not buying Enrique's (Barbieri) accent. I didn't like his character, it seemed forced (this not the JJ I know from Skins). The rest of the cast do an applausable job on screen. Good Performances.

Cameo Appearances: Lethal Bizzle, Giggs & Mz Bratt + More

#Overall: Barrel Of Laughs (Support UK Films & Go Watch It)

ONE FAVOURITE MOMENT IN THE FILM: The scene where K comes out of Tyrone's block and gets approached by a gang who don't recognise him until he says 'allow me'.