TOO MANY GAGS MISFIRE IN THIS CZECH COMEDY
Cert TBA
75 mins
BBFC advice: TBA
I have had such a breezy start to the everyfilm quest in 2015 that I have got a chance to take in a couple of the movies shown at LOCO - the London Comedy Film Festival.
These have been films sent to me by the makers and which I have watched while on hols in Gran Canaria.
In fact, we are in a rather nice hotel with a very decent-sized telly which I have linked up to my laptop to create our very own mini-cinema.
Of course, there is a downside and I haven't really taken as much advantage of the beautiful sunshine as I should have done.
But, hey, you can't have everything and I was able to watch Tomas Pavlicek's quirky Czech comedy instead of burning myself.
The only problem was that most of the gags were either lost in translation or were not that funny.
The film's premise is interesting - a gumption-less call centre operative (Vit Rohr) becomes infatuated with a regular straight-talking caller he knows only as Marie.
So, he shakes himself out of his lethargy and attempts to track her down.
Actually, it takes quite a long time before this happens. In the meantime, there are a number of rather strange sketches whose relevance I didn't quite understand.
For example, why does our hero's dog suddenly go missing? And why is there a traffic policeman positioned in the middle of an empty street?
And why does the same traffic policeman suddenly appear as a security guard in a Berlin hotel?
The more odd situations there were, the less bothered I was on trying to fathom out what the linkages were.
There are certain aspects to the film's quirkiness I liked but the fact remains that I didn't laugh. I will be generous and say that was probably down to a culture gap on my part.
Director Tomas Pavlicek: “I try to get humour out of a dramatic situation, and drama out of a comic situation.”
Reasons to watch: Quirky and breezy comedy
Reasons to avoid: The gags are often lost in translation
Laughs: Smiles rather than chuckles
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 5/10