The Fruit Machine

Reminds me of my own youth in similar circumstances and reminds me of the scrapes I got in to with my late best friend, in the late 80s in the North of England. Ignore the stereotypes...sometimes the stereotypes actually exist, you know. Brilliant.

The characters are well drawn and the dream sequences add some mysticism. Whilst the plot is a little crazy its a genuine,sad and heartwarming tragedy, which in view of the lack of a big Hollywood style budget, for me at least, is something that cheap British films excel at. Well done. Its s ashame most of the young actors did not develop their careers, but looking back on such films it only adds to the importance of it for me.

Two gays teens on the run after seeing a brutal murder. It deals with homosexuality, racism, friendship & love.... and handles them all well, what more could ask from a movie! The acting is sincere, the directing well paced. Overall this is a very entertaining movie

No plot spoilers. I saw this on tv when it was made,1988? Younger viewers might be surprised that Channel 4 used to make some great dramas as well as some awful ones. Now it shows reality crap and horse racing.

I recall liking and being a bit shocked when I saw this. There is not a lot to the story but it is a trip back to the 1980s I suppose. I had looked for a long time for the dvd and am a bit disappointed that I did not enjoy watching the film more than I did

After viewing "Silence Like Glass", I was fascinated by the strength of Mr. Payne's performance and wanted to discover his "film roots". The closest I could get to, (until I saw "Privates on Parade"), was "The Fruit Machine", or as its known by me, "Wonderland". Mr. Payne's "Echo" leaves ripples in his wake...

The film "Wonderland" (aka "The FruitMachine") is a surprisingly dippy, imaginative romp involving two gay teenaged boys who happen to witness a gangland murder and are forced to flee Liverpool for Brighton. The film takes many inventive turns, several of which involve Eddie's dream lover, a man-dolphin hybrid who actually appears at crucial moments in the film to save Eddie and his partner, Michael. There are many subplots and colorful supporting characters, and the ending, albeit sad, is inevitable. It's worth it if only for the dance sequence at the Fruit Machine, a gay showbar in Liverpool, in which Michael competes for thirty quid. His dance is both erotic and touchingly naive. Both boys, Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth, should have had big careers in film. Apart from one distracting editing lapse that blunts the finale, this is a superior film, in that it refuses to indulge in stereotyping and doesn't condescend to its lead characters.