Not Only But Always

Looking extraordinarily like Withnail at his most dissolute, Rhys Ifans gives a pretty good shot at Peter Cook. And the others do their own impressions of the fab four - Miller, Bennett, Moore & Cook - convincingly as well. Miller is very much hand and arm movements, Bennett is a genuine look-alike and the Dudley Moore is remarkable.

Two queries: Why didn't they give him blue contact lenses when one of Cook's most striking features was his very beautiful blue eyes.

Secondly, why didn't they mention the film he made after Bedazzled? It wasn't a popular success which may have contributed to his sense of malaise as Dudley rose to the top.

And a possible goof: Wendy claims she wasn't invited to the funeral (seen off by the fierce wife #3). But there she is in the church. Just a bit of dramatic telescoping or insufficient research?

Though I'm far too young to have ever enjoyed the comedy of Cook and Moore during their lifetimes, I'm fortunate enough to have been introduced to the Derek and Clive recordings and through that much more of their work. As such, I was a very big fan going into this.

For those not aware, Not Only But Always details the comedy duo of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, who might well have invented comedy itself with the subsequent influence they had. The film takes the viewer on a journey from their first meeting to Cook's death, spanning the length of their comedic partnership.

Certainly relying primarily on its characters, Not Only But Always gives an objective portrayal of the highs and lows of their tumultuous pairing. The relationship between Cook and Moore is accurately shown as desperate, frustrated, anger-ridden and brilliant, the uglier sides of the story never avoided. Their alternations between teary eyed laughs and teary eyed screams provide an excellent portrayal of this infamously difficult couple. Both leading actors do a fantastic job in creating this fascinating and heartbreaking dynamic, the irritating pitfalls of Cook's personality splendidly relived by Rhys Ifans. It is impossible not to sympathize with both characters in their respective plights; laugh at the audacious brilliance of Cook's one-liners; and wet oneself in delight at the hilarious exchanges between the two. The story is informative and entertaining, mixing well the real life recorded incidents with the filmmaker's perceptions of the likely conversations and incidents occurring behind closed doors.

A faithful and compelling biopic, Not Only But Always moves a little too fast at times, its storyline feeling rushed at points. In spite of this, the combination of hilarity and difficulty in watching these men tear each other apart provides us with an unmissable viewing experience which will hopefully lead all who see it to fall in love with the work of these two great men.

After a slightly shaky start this dramatisation of the life of Peter Cook, centring on his relationship with his sometime comic partner Dudley Moore, became thoroughly engrossing. Credit must go to Rhys Ifans, an actor who I previously only knew as the irritating Welsh hippie type in Notting Hill, who caught the look, voice and mannerisms of Peter Cook perfectly. Aidan McArdle was also excellent as Dudley Moore, an amiable type who was put through hell by the self-loathing Cook. Terry Johnson's script was also very good; although some telescoping of incidents occurred, this can be excused in the name of dramatic license. In all an interesting look at a man with undoubted intelligence and talent who always wanted something more but was never sure what it was he was looking for.

The problem with biopics, particularly of those in living memory, is that they rely so heavily upon impression (rather than interpretation) that you can end up spending most of your two hours or so asking: "Who's that supposed to be?" No such problem with Rhys Ifans and Aidan McArdle's Peter Cook and Dudley Moore respectively - particularly when playing them on the point of disintegration in the 70s. Ifans has Pete's cold, almost trance-like, stare and fey way with a cigarette to perfection while McArdle (like Moore) grows in stature throughout the proceedings: which is quite a feat given his size.

As a re-imaginer of popular culture and the relationships within it, writer/director Terry Johnson is a past master. His central conceit of having the monochrome Dagenham philosophers Pete 'n' Dud watch a colour film about Cook and Moore's lives is inspired, particularly as Pete points out the post-modern methods being used to his chip-gobbling midget mate.

(By the way, if you think I'm hung up about Dud/McArdle's height, you wait 'til you hear what Pete/Ifans has to say about it.)

All the essential moments, particularly of the 60s, are highlighted here - Beyond The Fringe, David Frost, Eleanor Bron, Not Only But Also, etc. - and checked off. Yet still there's a sense of something missing, and it's not just the fact that the script highlights Cook over Moore.

At heart, rather like the middle of a doughnut, there is nothing of substance here. Certainly nothing that you couldn't have learnt from the brilliant documentary "At A Slight Angle To The Universe". Instead, what you have is Cook as a reptilian philanderer blessed with genius and Moore as a hectoring fishwife (the old "comedy duo as marriage" cliché is well and truly overplayed here) who also happens to be a trouper.

Where is the joie de vivre and charm that Cook and Moore both possessed as well as the self-pity and alcoholism that this film would have us wallow in? Despite some clever lines (and curiously rewritten classic sketches), Johnson seems to be more interested in what tore the two men apart rather than what brought, and kept, them together in the first place.

That said, the church choir singing "Goodbye-ee" will live with me forever.

This biopic assumes the audience knows the story already, so it doesn't elaborate on certain aspects of the story. If you did not know that, later in his life, Peter Cook was pretending to be Sven, a man who lives in a lighthouse, and was calling a late night radio show, you would not understand the scene early in the movie. Certain things in Peter Cook's life aren't mentioned at all, like his brief success in American television with the show "The Two of Us." Nevertheless, as biopics go, this is one of the best. Great acting! Rhys Ifans captures Peter Cooks mannerisms and that unique look he had in his eyes. Aidan McArdle captures Moore's voice, but he is not doing an impression. He is great in the role. The movie does not, to me, explain any of Cook's motives. If you did not know anything of his life and just saw this, you would think he was just an arrogant twit, in love with himself, who enjoyed nothing more than putting down Dudley. Still I would recommend renting the DVD and watching it twice. The second time you watch it, watch it with the commentary on.