COMEDY IN LENA DUNHAM STYLE BUT FUNNIER
Cert TBA
100 mins
BBFC advice: TBA
I do like to mix up the blockbusters with the low-budget movies into which film-makers, hoping to make it big, throw their heart and soul.
Therefore, I was pleased when I spotted Sarah Warren's M.L.E. on the Curzon On Demand service which has improved such a lot over the past few months.
M.L.E. was shown for the first time at the London Comedy Film Festival last week and, apparently, turned a few heads.
I can see why. This is comedy in the Lena Dunham-style but, in my opinion, is funnier.
Warren, who financed much of the movie through Kickstarter, wrote, directed and played the lead character - an aspiring actress called Julie Robert (geddit?).
Anyway, her career hopes nosedive after finance is pulled from the film on which she and her friend (Julie Sype) are lined up to work..
Her misery is compounded when she crashes a car she has 'borrowed'.
So, her desperation for cash means she agrees to a strange request to use her acting prowess to do some private eye work.
It is a decision which is bound to result in farce and it duly does as a myriad of mishaps befall our heroine.
M.L.E. works where so many comedies of this nature don't because the lead character is so likable. She is nicely self-mocking and has some really offbeat quirks, such as a passion for puppets and cake.
Warren claims the film is based on a true story which happened when she was broke. I like to think that is correct but I suspect some of the tangents are from her imagination.
There is also a serious point to be made about the exploitation of actresses.
Overall it is a neat combo which, despite its rough edges, promises much from Warren. Obviously, she is being noticed where it matters because Mike Figgis and Paul Haggis both have cameos in M.L.E.
Sarah Warren on whether M.L.E. really is based on a true story: "I was really broke, I was a broke actor and I was offered to spy and my life went completely upside down."
Reasons to watch: Quirky comedy which has the underlying serious subject of the exploitation of actresses.
Reasons to avoid: Not all of its gags hit the mark
Laughs: Five chuckles rather than belly laughs
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5/10