Review #687: 'Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa' (2013)

An Alan Partridge movie has been talked about and prayed for (by his fans) for years. The natural inclination when transferring a small-screen British sitcom character and moving them to the big screen is to take them out of their comfort zone, and involving them in some big event or disaster that usually ends up with them going to the U.S. for one reason or another. Yet with Partridge, his comedy is rooted in his small-town ideals and small-minded ignorance. You can't take Norfolk out of Partridge, nor can you take Partridge out of Norfolk. Thankfully, Norfolk is just where he stays, and his creator and inhabitant, Steve Coogan, along with frequent collaborator Armando Iannucci have created a script that is well worthy of everyone's favourite Abba enthusiast.

North Norfolk Digital is being taken over by conglomerate headed by shady suit Jason Tresswell (Nigel Lindsay). Station veteran Pat Farrell (Colm Heaney) fears losing his job and goes to Alan, his only 'friend' at the station, for help. Alan, naturally, gatecrashes a board meeting where, upon realising he could also face the sack, convinces them to 'Just Sack Pat'. Pat is fired, but returns at the office party with a rifle to take everybody hostage. Alan manages to flee, but is soon called in by the police, at the request of Pat, to act as a go-between. Alan obliges, and soon sees the opportunity for a career revival.

For a movie, things feel relatively low-key. There's no big stars shoe-horned in to increase ticket sales, nor is there any explosive action to speak of (although there is a hilarious Alan daydream where he imagines a shoot-out). This feels just like the TV show I'm Alan Partridge, only with better cinematography, and is all the better for it. Stars of British comedy normally find it difficult to transfer their success to the big screen (just ask Morecambe and Wise, Harry Enfield, and more recently, David Mitchell and Robert Webb) mainly because they overreach themselves, and end up losing what was so charming and appealing about their characters and comedy in the first place.

This is Alan as we know him - socially awkward, appallingly selfish, and unapologetically self-contained. It's not scream-out-loud funny, but it never really was (with some exceptions - "Smell my cheese!"). What makes Alan so fascinating, hilarious and strangely addictive is the fact that he is just like us, albeit more extreme and absurd. Yet Alan doesn't have the ability to stop and consider his ludicrousness before he says lines such as "We're asking what is the worst 'monger? Iron, fish, rumour, or war?" Coogan is fantastic in the role - he may be one of the finest comic actors this country has ever produced - making Alan somehow sympathetic even though the film doesn't offer any kind of straight-forward redemption for his character. But would we want him to, or would we prefer to see him forever embrace his eccentric nature? Or more importantly, does he deserve it?


Directed by: Declan Lowney
Starring: Steve Coogan, Colm Meaney, Nigel Lindsay, Sean Pertwee
Country: UK/France

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #494: 'Layer Cake' (2004)

This British gangster film was originally intended for director Guy Ritchie's typically heavy-handed approach, but thankfully, duty took him elsewhere and the gig landed in producer Matthew Vaughn's hands. Vaughn is now well-established amongst the Hollywood elite, having since gone on to direct the underrated Stardust (2007), the hugely entertaining Kick-Ass (2010), and the rather hit-and-miss X-Men: First Class (2011), but he made his name with this now-cult and extremely stylish little thriller that also paved the way for star Daniel Craig to become James Bond and an A-lister in one swoop. Vaughn's ability to stamp his quirky humour onto relatively familiar grounds is clear from the off, with Craig nameless protagonist (credited simply as XXXX) giving us the narration to his world, only this protagonist is about to get a massive life-lesson, and one that is quite suitable to our times.

XXXX is a successful cocaine dealer who, along with his cohorts Gene (Colm Meaney), Morty (George Harris), Terry (Tamer Hassan) and Clarkie (Tom Hardy), is on the verge of making the big deal that could see his retirement. "Have a plan, and stick to it," he tells us, only crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) has different ideas. He sets XXXX the task of finding the daughter of larger crime lord Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), a promising girl who has taken to drugs and since gone missing. Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, cocky gangster Duke (Jamie Foreman) has made a huge ecstasy heist but has stolen from the wrong person. All roads lead to XXXX, who finds himself pulled into a labyrinthine crime world where he starts to truly know his place.

This world of loud-mouthed gangsters and powerful old men in expensive suits that London (and the UK film industry) seems to enjoy mixing itself up with is frankly tiresome and has been done to death (especially in the straight-to-DVD market). Yet Layer Cake has less of the colourful, wise-cracking cock-er-neys and slow-motion bloodshed of Guy Ritchie's back catalogue, and shares more with the sleek, neon-lit world of Michael Mann. Although it does quite often border on style-over-substance, and the multi-stranded plot is not quite as clever as it thinks it is, the film is funny, entertaining and frequently surprising. The final moments especially pull the rug from beneath you when you think everything is nicely wrapped up.

The title refers to the social stratification of XXXX's world, and shows that it applies even to the criminal underworld, as well as business, social and political systems. XXXX thinks of himself as top dog, and in the opening scenes, we see him coolly going about his business - shades on, snappy suit, and he even takes the girl (Sienna Miller) of Duke's ridiculous nephew Sidney (Ben Whishaw). But his world, like our world, doesn't quite work like that. In the past year or so, we as the public have learned that we are mere cockroaches in a crushing capitalist country that vomits luxury onto the rich and powerful, and steals from the tax-payer. Like us, XXXX is chewed up by the system, giving him a slap-in-the-face dose of realism that he didn't see coming. The system is embodied by the towering Eddie Temple, in an effortlessly brilliant performance by a ridiculously fake-tanned Michael Gambon. This aspect is the main reason why this film stands out amongst its imitators. An introduction to an interesting film-maker and its intriguing star.


Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman, Michael Gambon, Ben Whishaw, Sienna Miller, Dexter Fletcher
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #110: 'Get Him to the Greek' (2010)

The comedy films of writer/producer/director Judd Apatow have somewhat dominated the last eight years or so. As well as being commercial hits, they have been lauded by critics for their sweet approach to comedy, blended with gross-out aspects and genuinely good scriptwriting. Apart from his best works - The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005), Superbad (2007), Knocked Up (2007) - his films can often be lazy, relying on quirky randomness to get through. The overrated Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), which has somehow become a massive cult hit, was the biggest example of this, and although I could watch Will Ferrell all day, the film just felt like it was desperately trying to get through to the other side. Get Him To The Greek is another example of this.

Music producer Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) convinces his somewhat angry boss (Sean Combs) that an anniversary concert for failing rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is the way forward. Convinced, Green is sent to London to collect Snow and take him on a few promotional spots before arriving back in America for his concert. Snow would rather have endless parties, take lots of drugs, and sleep with lots of women - which is okay with Green, only he has an angry boss on his ass and a girlfriend (played by Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss) who he's not sure has broken up with him or not.

This is really a film of two halves. The first being genuinely funny - with Brand breathing likeability into his somewhat loathsome character, and the exchanges between Hill and Diddy being a particular highlight. This is coming from a person that hates Russell Brand. I mean I really, really hate him. But the charm that everyone else seems to see only becomes apparent to me when on the screen. Here he reprises his role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), where I was surprised with his comic timing. When the second half comes around, I began hating him again.

The film simply runs out of ideas, throwing in a troubled father-son relationship between Brand and his Las Vegas-based father Jonathan Snow (Colm Meaney) that is of no interest. It also throws up one of the unfunniest scenes in the film, with Hill being smashed on a 'jeffrey' (a mix up of a variety of drugs smoked like a joint) and stroking a furry wall while Brand and Meaney fight. It resorts to scenes like this because it has no more jokes to tell, and combined with Aldous Snow's increasingly crap and unfunny array of songs, it all feels like it just wants to end.

Sadly, a more interesting sub-plot that reveals Snow's serious drug habit crops up then seemingly fades out without being properly explored. It could have added another dimension to Snow's character, and stopped him becoming a whiny and annoying protagonist. That said, the first half is funny enough to make it worth a watch, and Sean Combs near enough steals the entire film.


Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Rose Byrne, Sean Combs, Colm Meaney, Elisabeth Moss
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie