Hunting Venus

TV Movie
1999
Not Rated
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Former pop-star turned con artist Simon Delancey is kidnapped by two fans of his eighties band the Venus Hunters, and blackmailed to re-form the band for one final show.Former pop-star turned con artist Simon Delancey is kidnapped by two fans of his eighties band the Venus Hunters, and blackmailed to re-form the band for one final show.Former pop-star turned con artist Simon Delancey is kidnapped by two fans of his eighties band the Venus Hunters, and blackmailed to re-form the band for one final show.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

419

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews10

7.0419

Featured reviews

10nigel-downs-7

wonderful stuff

A truly wonderful film, based on a new romantic theme (of the early 80's) but taking place 15 years later, as the band is black-mailed into re-uniting for one final appearance. It even manages to put that "shaddup you face" (that kept Ultravox's Vienna from being number 1) in its place. Several cameo appearances from people who were famous at the time (Simon Le Bon, Gary Numan and more), it all adds to the film's feel-good factor. Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey star in roles that are distinctly different to Men Behaving Badly but are certainly no less fun to watch. Jane Horrocks also plays a strong part and once again shows her versatility. My only regret is that there's still no DVD available - come on, whoever you are - get one on the market!

ALILIZ

Wonderful

It was brilliant. I could watch it over and over again. As my video recorder is currently out of action I can't do this at the moment.

Neil Morrissey obviously stole the show. It's a shame that the TV magazines in England didn't seem to give him the credit he deserves! The rest of the cast were also brilliant. Jane Horrocks, Martin Clunes etc.

As a "child of the 80s" I can relate to what happened then and how it is being portrayed now.

PS If Neil Morrissey needs his "bits" massaging after the agony he must have suffered while in costume he's very welcome at my place!

morrissey

Must be one of the best films EVER made (in my opinion)

Before watching this film I was very doubtful as to its content. I thought it was going to be just like any other 'low budget' film. BUT I WAS WRONG. After watching it several times, I have come to believe that it is one of the best television films ever made.

Neil Morrissey's portrayal of Charlie/Charlotte, and Martin Clunes' portrayal of Simon mix together with the rest of the characters to make the most wonderful and funny films I have ever seen.

My rating of this film has to be 10/10, and I would recommend it to anyone. They do not have to be a fan of any of the actors, or of New romantic music to enjoy such a thing.

7chrischapman-47545

New Wave nostalgia on a low budget

A TV movie comedy about an early 80's pop band made by Buffalo Pictures - starring and directed by Martin Clunes with his wife as producer.

A strong cast with somewhat brief cameo appearances by various pop stars of the era. Jane Horrocks, Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey (especially his makeup and prosthetics) are particularly good.

Shown on Talking Pictures TV, this is a rarity despite it getting very good reviews on IMDB and Youtube. There is some evidence of VHS and a rare ITV DVD release and it is listed on Amazon.com. There was also a compilation album/CD.

Made on a low budget which is a shame since the script and sets could have benefitted from a bit of a polish in places although there are some clever hidden references.

6Prismark10

Hunting Venus

You just know Martin Clunes is an early 1980s boy. His directorial outing has swathes of 1980s new wave music.

Clunes also stars as Simon Delancey, a faded 80s pop star who used to be in the group the Venus Hunters. They had one hit single.

Now he is a vacuum cleaning salesman. That his way in to rob old ladies while they try out the cleaner.

Simon really cleans up from one old lady, a dog collar is worth thousands.

Unfortunately for him, his past catches up with him in the form of Cassandra and Jacqui who used to run the band's fan club. They were also fleeced by him.

So they force Simon to reunite the band for a live BBC show of 1980s pop stars fronted by Jools Holland.

Simon reluctantly agrees but the other band members hate him as well for conning them. One of them Charlie (Neil Morrissey) has had a sex change and is now Charlotte.

Hunting Venus is an amiable and lightweight television film. A nostalgic look back to early 1980s music with cameos from Gary Numan, Human league, Simon Le Bon etc.

The best performance comes from Morrissey as Charlotte.

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Jools Holland who also stars as himself wrote the song "Starburst" performed by the Venus Hunters near the end of the movie.

Quotes
Charlotte: [Charlotte signing the one-hit song 'Starburst' at the BBC Television Centre on Jools TV programme] I dreamt the earth was dying, we were choking on the fumes. Apocalypse, desintegration, we furnished our own doom. A cold and vast eternity, was all our future held. We'd sucked it dry and only left pollution's acrid smell. It was some time, some time on the trip to Uranus. Saturn, Pluto,Mars, who could blame us?. Maybe some time, when the moon no longer feels the pull of the Earth, we'll be there at the new planets birth, you and I, and we'll kiss a supernova. Born of our bliss for light years, it could happen like this, a galaxy, that we can call home. Sent my children skyward, I launched them into space, a herculean effort, the strain shows on my face, we headed for Saturn. Inspected his ring the Dog Star and Pluto, we heard angels sing. It was some time, some time on the trip to Uranus, Saturn, Pluto, Mars, who could blame us? Maybe some time, when the moon no longer feels the pull of the Earth, we'll be there at the new planet's birth, you and I and we'll kiss a supernova born of our bliss. For light years it could happen like this, a galaxy, that we can call home. A black hole pulled us in we saw quasars, Saturn, Pluto, Mars who can blame us? Maybe some time, when the moon no longer feels the pull of the Earth, we'll be there at the new planet's birth, you and I, and we'll kiss, a supernova born of our bliss. For light years it could happen like this, a galaxy that we can call home, that we can call home. Maybe some time. Maybe some time.