Jonathan Pie's American Pie

Directed by, (co-)written by and starring Tom Walker, this is a very poor attempt at a mockumentary. Lazy humour, laid thick, with the obvious target (with a capital "T").

I abandoned this after 15 minutes, but in that first quarter of an hour, Jon Sopel -- as himself (a knowledgeable BBC correspondent) -- was the best thing in it.

Is there really any point in churning out the same old same old? Why not try to find someone with something new to say, or with a new way to say something that's been said before? If this were the first mockumentary that had ever been made, then it would have some merit; but it's not and much better work has been done elsewhere.

Tom Walker's youtube and facebook segments shine with insight and lateral thinking and are a breath of fresh air in the face of the black and white narratives we're handed daily almost without exception. In his Johnathan Pie character Walker is the only one brave enough to contemplate both sides of a bull-locked-horns-world we appear to be stuck in. To dare to think laterally, even from the enemy's side just to see what they see and gain insight from that. For some reason he drops that groundbreaking position with his long form efforts and delivers angry rant sections that sit uncomfortably and really don't work, especially for those devoted fans of his thought provoking positions. Yes he does his angry man stint in his short pieces but it's brief and surrounded with clever dialog and always works toward an end. The first half of this film has him as an uncharacteristic A hole in the office. Part of Pie's charm, and what makes him work has to be that we like him, he's just a normal guy dealing with a ludicrous world, he veers too far north of that mark here. The best section was when he sat down and talked to the white nationalist and let the set up and scene deliver without going for cheap put downs, letting the ridiculousness and insight reveal itself. There's good stuff in this film, and Walker is a comedian and 'documentatarian' to watch. He's not just another mockumentary maker, and there is real value and insight in his material and his characters viewpoint. We definitely need more from him.

Brilliant, funny, honest, stunning clear insights from Jonathan Pie. There are few minds as bright, honest and thoughtful as this guy and none able to make me laugh . . . out loud so consistently as Jonathan. More please!