Directed by Michael Winterbottom, and based on a British TV Series. No writers listed.
Starring, Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Clair Keelan
It may be that you need to have lived in northern England to completely enjoy this film. It may be that you have to have a reverence for the British gifts of mimicry and wit. It may be that you don’t require a plot at the theater. But like it, I did.
PLOT (for what it’s worth). Steve Coogan is asked by the British newspaper THE OBSERVER, to sample the cuisine in northern England restaurants. On hiatus from his girlfriend, he invites a friend, Rob Brydon to come along. That’s the plot.
This movie is mostly a competition between the two actors over who is the best mimic. Brydon wins handily although Coogan turns out to be the better cocksman, picking up women with the ease of a barnyard rooster. (Brydon has a new wife and baby at home so doesn’t compete in this arena)/ We travel through northern England with the two men, listening to them as they sample cuisine (although curiously they never critique it), test their wit, test their ability to mimic Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Allen, Michael Sheen.
This movie appealed to me since I don’t really require a plot, or action, or much of anything if the scenery is gorgeous (it was); if the people are literate (they were) and if the jokes come fast (they did). Highly recommended for those who fall into this group.
Patti
Patti Abbott writes crime fiction short stories. She hosts a look at Forgotten Books every Friday with readers, writers and reviewers at http://www.pattinase.blogspot.com/ She hopes you’ll join in.
