Men Up

Swansea is chosen as the first location for trials of Viagra, a new medication designed to combat male impotence. The men involved in the trial form an unlikely friendship.

Well this was a real bolt out of the blue, a reminder if exactly what The BBC is capable of, as though it came from a time where The Beeb truly was delivering first class, pioneering drama.

It's very funny, it's very moving, not so much a taboo subject now as it would have been back in the 90's, but still a very sensitive area for many men.

Pete and Alice's story was very sad, Meurig's story was perhaps the highlight for me.

Chewed up tapes from Blockbuster, M People, Blur, they brought back 1994 as if it were yesterday. It was a terrific production, credit to the team involved.

I know I'm biased, hailing from this great City, but Swansea looks awesome, they picked some great locations for filming.

What can you say about the cast, phenomenal performances, Paul Rhys, Iwan Rheon, Alexandra Roach, all of them.

Swansea's finest, Joanna Page, what can I say, nothing but sheer adoration, talk about sincere, genuine and wonderful.

9/10.

A most entertaining movie. It is done with great sensitivity, utilising great actors. The story is both sad and heartwarming. By the time it's over, you laughed a lot, wiped away a few tears, and got angry a few times. It's really well done, happy to have watched it. It shows a very vulnerable side of men, and how inept society can be when approaching it. It is thought provoking, but not boring or forced. Lately there has been an amazing abundance of absolute rubbish movies where one just can't figure out how on Earth they got green lit, so it is very refreshing to see a recent film that has heart, talent, and a story that can keep the viewer's interest.

Didn't know what to expect from a drama about a drug that treats erectile dysfunction and impotence. What I got was frank yet not gritty (as is usually the case), set in 90s Wales but not bleak, about sex but not sexy; all in all, it felt real, and did it's best to address as many different experiences of the men undergoing the trial as possible. I really enjoyed it. There are some excellent, believable performances in there too with (thankfully) no fake-sounding Welsh accents. There are 5 men to follow and somehow you end up caring about all of them, and their partners. Stefan Rhodri and Mark Lewis Jones' characters have some beautiful moments and stop Iwan Rheon stealing the slow. Definitely worth 87 minutes of your time.

Modest Brit-dramedy "Men Up" is the true tale of Pfizer's first clinical trial of what would become the revolutionary Viagra - held in 1994 by Dr Aneurin Barnard (supported by nurse Joanna Page) at Swansea's Morriston Hospital, focussed on a group of men with diabetes related impotency (inc Iwan Rheon, Paul Rhys, Steffan Rhodri, Mark Lewis Jobes & Phaldut Sharma). The performances are decent, while director Ashely Way & writer Matthew Barry keep the tone light & the drama lukewarm as the group bonds while the pill gives clues to the impacts it'll have on their lives and their partners (inc Alexandria Roach, Alexandria Riley & Nathan Sussex). Mild but passable fare.

I can imagine the writers of this sittng in a meeting wondering what they can produce as an excuse to show couples engaged in sexual activity. The outcome? Men up, A one off (Thank god) drama about the discovery of the drug called viagra. This break through may have been a game changer for many long suffering men, but as a drama it was about as relavent as news that churchill lost the election after the war. Had it concentrated more about the process of the discovery and less about the patiants, even if it were to have just cut out the bonking in the bedroom scenes, it might have worked better. But the writers were only interested in something that would show as much titilation as possible thus failing to produce something that would qualify as being something intelegent.