Sunday, December 09, 2007

I WANT CANDY - bizarrely panned Brit comedy

I WANT CANDY was absolutely panned by the British press when it came out in March - so much so that I didn't bother watching it until it came out on DVD. Clearly, it's not a work of comedy genius, but it's not that bad either. In fact, I had more fun watching I WANT CANDY that I did during two hours' "festive fun" with FRED CLAUS. The basic idea is the same as THE MOGULS aka THE AMATEURS (currently playing in the US): a bunch of small-town middle-class nice guys decide to make a porno. In this case, the protagonists are two like-able film students (Tom Riley and Tom Burke - both talented & amiable) and their side-kick (Michelle Ryan aka The Bionic Woman or Zoe Slater depending on which side of the pond you're from.) The kids manage to hire the infamous Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra) on the strength of their unusually cogent film script. They also get funding from a dodgy distributor played by the brilliant Eddie Marsan. As is the case with all these comedies that wring laughs out of normal people doing faintly transgressive things, there's a lot of scenes in which the kids' shocked parents discover what they are up to. Far more successful are cameos from Miranda Hart as a sarcastic secretary and Jimmy Carr as a video-store worker/porn expert. I also liked Mackenzie Crook as a Brent-ish Film Professor who's desperate to appear "down with the kids". Like I said, this ain't Citizen Kane, but it's harmless, unpretentious and like-able. It's probably not worth seeking out, but if you catch it on FilmFour it's worth a look.

I WANT CANDY went on release in the UK in March 2007 and is now available on DVD.

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