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Reviews
Up in Town (2002)
Intelligent, witty and perfectly pitched
I caught one of these little gems - the one about the rat - repeated on TV the other night. Joanna Lumley shows just what an accomplished actor she is in this 10-minute monologue to her bedroom mirror. Very, very funny as she, through her prejudices, preconceptions and reactions to the people she meets and the events of her day, reveals more and more of herself. Beautifully written and deftly directed, this just shows that simplicity, a great script and an extremely able performer can produce a thoroughly absorbing and moving piece of television theatre. The brevity of the production just made me want more. I wish all the episodes were available on DVD.
Very Annie Mary (2001)
A very enjoyable film but with a better film trying to get out
I had never heard of this film but it was in my local library in north London so I decided to give it a try. It took a while to get into it and at first I found most of the characters annoying; either caricatures or buffoons. But it sort of grew on me. It is certainly far better than a good deal of the Hollywood dross that is foisted on us because of the distribution system in the UK. Quirky, funny, sometimes irritating but mostly amusing, this made me long to go back to Wales. It seemed to get to the heart of the country in the way that The Full Monty got into the heart of Sheffield. The two gay guys doing "Annie Get Your Gun" was one of many very funny, and touching, original little scenes with which this film is filled. I think this movie may well grow as it ages and eventually be seen as a little classic. I hope so because, at least for one afternoon, it really made me smile.
Party Monster (2003)
Thought-provoking, Sexy and Witty
I borrowed this film on DVD knowing nothing about it except that I use the club scene in London, remembered Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone and am fascinated by New York City. This is a great performance by MC. The camp banter is extremely well done and he plays the arch young queen to perfection - a wicked combo of cute and bitchy, attracting and repelling to an equal degree. The story is well constructed and has some fabulous club scenes. There are some beautiful people, fantastic outfits and some very, very funny moments here. Usually this sort of stuff (specially recreations of clubbing) looks fake but here it was totally right. It was pretty honest about drug side of things as well. My only gripe is maybe there is a hint of (very American-style) moralising. Drugs = bad: Lots of drugs = very bad. We all know it's not that simple. I'm pretty squeamish so metaphorically hid behind the sofa during the hammer scene, but that's only a couple of minutes. All in all an exhilarating ride. Yes, tragic in some ways but a great ride, some excellent dialogue and performances and a great homage to NYC's great days of pre-Guiliani clublife.