groovycathers

For those of you that haven't ever seen any British schools' TV, especially that of the golden 1970's-1980's period, Look Around You is a send-up of some educational programmes that were, and still are, shown to school children in the UK in order to augment their classroom experience. In the 1970s-80s, having the treat of a TV show to break up the day was a looked-forward to experience for most, as it meant you didn't have to actually do any work whilst the programme was on, not to mention it was about the maximum interactivity availbale at that time (no PCs in the classroom until about 1983!) others seem to think it's an OU send-up actually it's probabaly closer to a 1970's/early 80's school's programme called "Experiment", dangerously close in fact. I think the guy who narrates the series may even be the same one that narrated the proper educational programme.

Look Around You is superb, keenly observed from its source material and surreal in execution. Well worth a watch, especially in the 25-40 age group who witnessed it all for real, but others may well enjoy the silliness of it all as well.

I bought this film based upon the facts that (a) I'm a huge Buffy/Angel fan (b) James Marsters fairly permanently occupies the wallpaper on my PC (c) I was heavily influenced by the other reviews here on IMDb (d) I think Amber Benson is a talented girl and I've followed other projects like The Ghosts of Albion (UK's BBC Online)

Anyway, I digress - is the film actually any good? I think so.

It's not perfect, maybe periodically a little contrived; at times I found myself wondering if Jay and Silent Bob might just appear from somewhere, as some of the characterisations aped early Kevin Smith a little too closely, although I wouldn't blame Amber for looking in that direction for inspiration, the guy is a great writer/director.

I found the principal characters of Chance and Simon likable and easy to relate to, it took me a while longer to feel comfortable with the idea and structure of some of the other characters. Maybe that was intentional, I don't know. It was fun to spot all the Buffy/Angel-related people out of context :) Amber certainly doesn't typecast...

Some of the writing was laugh-out-loud funny and quotable, and the acting was first-class in all departments. I find it hard to believe that Chance has not been able to find a distributor to date. This film, and Amber Benson, show a hell of a lot more talent than the average Hollywood offering, and coming across as a "small film" in terms of budget and production style, has all the hallmarks of a cult hit given the opportunity of more than a just few thousand getting to see it.

I wasn't disappointed in the $68 (£39) I spent getting the movie over from the US - you buy an Amber signed poster and 10x8" print and get the DVD for "free" - the system seems to work, Benson Entertainment were very efficient and I got the film in 2 weeks from start to finish - pretty impressive!

I wish Amber Benson every success in any further attempt to get Chance distributed properly, and any future productions - based on the projects she's done so far, she's got a real chance(sic) to be a big Hollywood player in the not-so-distant future.

You've got a beautiful woman who also happens to have one of the best singing voices for contemporary music on the planet, at the height of her fame. On a good day she can act a bit as well - she's not Meryl Streep but not completely wooden either, and she can even dance a bit if required. You want to give her a vehicle to show off these talents (especially the singing) so you stick her in a film where she can do lots of singing and a bit of dancing and look lovely the entire time.

Here's the problem. Grease was the last of the great musicals of that era, not to mention the tangible chemistry between her and John Travolta, which for many of Olivia's fans' certainly has never been bettered since and is nigh-on impossible to live up to.

The Xanadu script was not really up to scratch; the male lead had the charisma of the plank of wood - I'm sure Michael Beck is a nice enough bloke but I get p*ss*d off every time he's on screen; and there is virtually no chemistry between the 2 young leads.

It wasn't really a good acting day for Olivia either, although to be fair she doesn't actually have to do much, other than sing and dance, look lovely and rollerskate. On the up side, the music is great, and Gene Kelly is a saving grace every time he appears on screen.

I'm a huge Olivia fan and it's fun to see just because she's in it and she does light up the screen when she's on, but watch it with a huge pinch of irony and another of kitsch and you'll enjoy it, but take it seriously and you'll be disappointed.