Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis

I, too, fail to understand why this flick has been trashed so completely. There seems to be an ever-increasing trend toward eschewing black humor because it 'isn't nice'. Well, so what! this movie is VERY dark and in several places absolutely hilarious. I admit that I did not know who Rik Mayall is, but I'll be looking for him in the future. Jane Horrocks is every bit as good as she was in "Little Voice", and the guy who played the contract killer is hysterical. Please don't pay any attention to the nay-sayers and catch this movie if you can.

I didn't plan to review BRING ME THE HEAD OF MAVIS DAVIS, much like I didn't plan to watch it. It was a Sunday night thing, you see. It is a sad consequence of the day of rest: you fill in time however you can, even watching awful films like this.

The film tells the story of a scheming manager who plots to kill his faded pop star, and in doing so increase her album sales. Years ago, in a rush to complete a first-year Screenwriting assignment I hatched a similar, lazy plot.

I never thought it was particularly astute, because everybody knows that the legends of rock stars are built on their deaths. The makers of this film think it IS astute, even if their execution is excruciatingly sloppy. Worse still, where I made the point in ten minutes, this film runs to ninety.

Ninety minutes. Ninety horrible minutes. Ninety minutes, no jokes.

I could hardly feel angry that I watched this film: it was on television and it was my own fault. I felt no malice or ill-will towards the cast and crew. I foresaw the inevitable lameness of their poorly-made product and yet I watched it anyway.

In the end I just felt like a bit of a loser. Ninety minutes I could have spent stimulating my brain or collecting for the worlds poor, but no. I watched a bad film.

Don't make the same mistake I did. But then again, Sundays make people do strange things.

It's true the Critics (both UK and US) hated this movie.

Why? I dont know. I agree with another user's comments, that you have to be a Mayall fan to have enjoyed this film. Jane Horrocks once again proves what an all-round entertainer she is. Not only does she sing, but she also plays a convincing Bitch, and (in the flashbacks of the film) the Shy Mavis Davis before Stardom hits in. But I feel I have to mention Clint. Clint the hitman is hilarious in the movie. He comes highly recommended to Mayall, but its later discovered this is his first ever hit. Danny Aiello is also at his best in the movie. The film is full of visual humour too. Very good film.

I think this film is very funny and highly underrated.

You have to have seen Rick Mayall in the New Statesman to understand how well he can play a shifty businessman. Jane Horrocks performs very well (Particularly when you realise she does her own singing) and for me seemed very believable. Whilst some of the side plot lines may seem tenuous and dare I say it even a little dry, the whole piece spirals toward the climax of both the tour and the movie with Rick Mayall 's character bouncing in an emotional maelstrom between love and hate. (One of the smaller scenes which is actually very funny is when Mayle is being driven to see the gang boss. in a 30 second piece they manage to put a parody of Pulp Fiction and a very funny gag about answering questions. (In fact when they get to talk the secondary characters (and the thugs in particular) are given some great lines) If you can forgive the straight-to-tv look and like the Rick Mayall of Alan B'Stard instead of the Young ones or Bottom then this will have you laughing out loud.

Rik Mayall won my sense of humor in the wonderful 80s Britcom, "The Young Ones", which I highly recommend to the uninitiated. Jane Horrocks is extremely talented and does a great job. Danny Aiello plays a wonderfully smart and silly Mafia don. The film is silly. But, I still think silly is funny, when it is done with some intelligence. The best part of this film for me was the sprinkling of fabulously absurd character roles throughout the story. Aiello's bodyguards, the puerile hit man, the insecure security supervisor. All very clever. Ronald Pickup as Mayall's competition is also very funny. If you like the slappy end of Brit comedy, I think this film will satisfy you quite nicely.