TL;DR
- Lots of good laughs
- Richard Thorncroft makes for a good central character (similar to Alan Partridge in all the good ways)
- Well-paced plot that frames the jokes well
- Slightly generic sTory
- Not particularly memorable without any quotable lines
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A quirky British comedy, this film seems slightly random to have graced the front page of the UK IMDB; it seems to have almost come from nowhere. Yet it must have done the trick as the small screen I saw it in was nearly packed. With some consistent laughs, it keeps the audience entertained with a story that keeps plodding along and a main character you enjoy watching. It’s nice to see that British comedies can still find an audience and can still have some quality.
Former star of a cheesy 80’s TV detective show, Mindhorn, Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt) is now a failing actor, desperate to reap back some fame and get a comeback. He spots an opportunity when the police ask him to return to the Isle of Man to talk to a murder suspect, the Kestrel, (Russel Tovey) who will only talk to Thorncroft’s fictional TV detective, Mindhorn – a man with a robotic eye who can see truths and lies. Keen to get as much publicity as possible, he also runs into his former journalist girlfriend Pat (Essie Davis), stuntman (Simon Farnaby) and co-star who’s career is going considerably better, Peter (Steve Coogan). Naturally things blow out of proportion, leading Thorncroft to go on the run and leading to some exciting, comedic scenes.
Coogan himself is in it also, though criminally underused in my opinion. Whilst this may well be intended as a catalyst to boost Barratt’s comedy career beyond The Mighty Boosh, there should have been more room made to include Coogan’s character. Nevertheless the cast does a good job; Russel Tovey’s oddly misunderstood Kestrel brings much needed heart to the characters, it’s nice to see Andrea Riseborough doing something more comedic, and Essie Davis makes what would have otherwise been just a side-love interest less generic and more charismatic. The real laughs certainly come in part from Farnaby’s Dutch stuntman Clive Parnevik, but mainly from main man, Mindhorn himself, Julian Barratt. Farnaby’s comedic timing along with his best Goldmember-style Dutch accent is perfect, but Barratt really squeezes everything he can from the script and makes the part his own. Consistently charismatic and easy to enjoy watching, his character of Thorncroft is reminiscent of Alan Partridge himself; arrogant, stupid, self-obsessed, yet undeniably funny and somehow very likeable despite the numerous flaws.
The ending is disappointing; it’s as if they just ran out of time and had to round it up. But on the whole, while it can drag at times, overall the comedy keeps it plodding along nicely, keeping it well paced and the characters packing the humour in splendidly. It won’t go down as the most memorable British comedy and you won’t be quoting lines from it particularly often, but it’s a solid comedy to keep you entertained, giggling and sure that the British comedy film is still very much alive and well.