How to Get Ahead in Advertising

 Year of Release:  1989

Director:  Bruce Robinson

Screenplay:  Bruce Robinson

Starring:  Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson

Running Time:  94 minutes

Genre:  fantasy, comedy

Denis Dimbleby Bagley (Grant) is a stressed British advertising executive, who is approaching a breakdown while trying to develop a campaign to sell pimple cream.  One day he notices a boil on the side of his neck, which grows at an alarming rate, and quickly develops into a second head, with it's own ruthless personality.  Before long, the boil is taking control of Bagley's life.

Actor turned writer-director Bruce Robinson first made name for himself with the cult film Withnail and I (1987), and here he reunites with Withnail star Richard E. Grant for a satirical attack on advertising in particular and modern British life in general.  It's hardly subtle, but is pretty funny in places.  The humour is very British, with it's schoolboy delight in mess and gleeful surrealism.  Richard E. Grant dominates the film as the alternately hilarious and terrifying antihero Bagley.  Grant is at his manic best here, all flailing limbs, wolfish grins and waspish one-liners.  Rachel Ward provides the beating heart of the film as Bagley's sympathetic wife, Julia, and she does the best she can with the little that she is given to do.  Richard Wilson, who would shortly become Britain's favourite grumpy old man Victor Meldrew in TV sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990-2000), plays Bagley's crusty boss.  Fans of British television might recognise other familiar faces in small roles, and Sean Bean makes a brief appearance.  The voice of the boil is provided by an uncredited Bruce Robinson.  The amount of hectoring and speeches about the evils of the modern world does become a little tiresome, even though it's hard to argue with what the film has to say, and even though it is very much a product of the late 1980s, it is still quite pertinent.  It's not a great film, the special effects look very cheap, and it's awkwardly paced and runs out of steam before the end.  it does have a moment though, and it is worth a look because it is funny, if you like surreal British dark comedy, and Richard E, Grant gives a fantastic comic performance.

Richard E. Grant learns How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

 Year of Release: 2021

Director:  Patrick Hughes

Screenplay:  Tom O'Connor, Brandon Murphy, Philip Murphy

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Frank Grillo, Morgan Freeman, Richard E. Grant

Running Time:  100 minutes

Genre:  Action, comedy

Former bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds), whose license has been suspended, takes a sabbatical on advice of his therapist.  However, his rest is soon ruined when he is contacted by Sonia Kincaid (Hayek), the wife of hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson).  The three soon find themselves caught up in a plot to destroy the power grid and infrastructure of the whole of Europe.

I have not seen The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), so I can't say how good a sequel this is.  It is basically a blend of James Bond-style spy thriller, action and comedy and it really doesn't always hold together.  It's often funny, and the three leads have real chemistry together, and are all talented comedy performers, but there really is nothing novel or original here.  Despite not being a long film, it still feels stretched, jokes are repeated, and the frequent action setpieces, while well-staged, were old hat back in the 1980s.  There is also a problem with tone, where it does touch on the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Greece, and the very real problems going on there, but it doesn't fit with the goofy tone of the rest of there film.  Also the frequent violence is surprisingly sadistic.  Given the comedic nature of the film it is really quite graphic.  Antonio Banderas has some good moments as the villain of the piece, despite a ridiculous hairpiece, Frank Grillo plays an obnoxious American Interpol agent who really doesn't do much except yell at people and insult his Scottish translator (Alice McMillan), but Morgan Freeman is very funny, and there are appearances from British TV comedy star Rebecca Front as Bryce's therapist, and Richard E. Grant and Gary Oldman appear in small roles.  If you are a fan, or really seen any of this type of film, then you will have seen this all before, but is is enjoyable enough, and there are some laughs to be had.  It will find it's rightful place in a few months time on late night TV.

Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek and Samuel L. Jackson in Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

The Player

Year of Release:  1992
Director:  Robert Altman
Screenplay:  Michael Tolkin, based on the novel The Player by Michael Tolkin
Starring:  Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Cynthia Stevenson
Running Time: 124 minutes
Genre:  Black comedy, satire, thriller

Griffin Mill (Robbins) is an executive at a Hollywood studio.  His job is to listen to submissions from writers and decide whether or not they would make good films.  By his own estimation he says "yes" to 12 out of 50,000 submissions a year.  As you might expect, he has more than a few enemies among screenwriters.  Mill starts to receive threatening postcards from a writer whose pitch he rejected.  To make matters worse, his job is threatened by an ambitious new executive at the studio.

The Player marked something of a comeback for maverick Hollywood director Robert Altman who became known in the 1970s for such iconic films as MASH (1970), McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) and Nashville (1975).  The Player features several Altman trademarks, most notably the large cast, complex, overlapping dialogue, and mobile camera work, particularly in the film's famous opening scene: a seven and a half minute unbroken shot roving through a studio lot, eavesdropping on pitches and conversations.
The movie manages to be both affectionate and acidic towards Hollywood. Some of the satire is quite scathing, but there is a real love for movies that shines through.  There are numerous references to other films, with the camera frequently lingering on movie posters or photos of stars and directors that somehow comment on the events in the story.  It also has numerous celebrity cameos (including Bruce Willis, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, Jack Lemmon, Julia Roberts, Harry Belafonte and John Cusack).
The film flows along with it's main plot being subsumed among various digressions, twists and subplots.  The jokes are genuinely funny, for the most plot, and the thriller element is quite intriguing.  At the end the film subverts the traditional "Hollywood ending" managing to be both happy and surprisingly bleak.
Tim Robbins is good in the lead managing to be both charismatic and suave as well as shockingly cruel and ruthless without ever being entirely unsympathetic.  Whoopi Goldberg stands out as a tenacious detective, as does country singer Lyle Lovett as a creepy cop.  Richard E. Grant also makes the most of a small role as a flamboyant, pretentious director.

Tim Robbins is The Player       

Withnail & I

Year: 1987
Director: Bruce Robinson
Screenplay: Bruce Robinson
Starring: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick
Running Time: 108 minutes
Genre: Comedy

Summary: London, 1969: Withnail (Grant) and Marwood (McGann) are a pair of unemployed actors who share a squalid flat. Withnail is a flamboyant alcoholic with a penchant for long, venomous rants where he bemoans his fate, humanity and the world in general while proclaiming himself as an undiscovered genius. Marwood is more level-headed and anxiety prone.
Deciding they need a break, they go off for a holiday in the country in a cottage owned by Withnail's Uncle Monty (Griffiths). However, the holiday does not go to plan, as they are hampered by terrible weather, and a complete lack of food, fuel and common sense. As Withnail manages to antagonise every local person they encounter, including a threatening poacher (Elphick), and Marwood does his best to avoid the sexual advances of Uncle Monty.

Opinions: Note: Paul McGann's character name is never spoken in the movie and in the credits he is just referred to as "I", but he is named Marwood in the screenplay and I have used that name in this review for the sake of convenience.
This scathing dark comedy is one of the greatest British films of the 1980s and remains one of the best cult films Britain ever produced. The film is full of memorable scenes and quotable dialogue. Blending elements of tragedy with the comedy it is at once sad and hilarious. Grant made his name with his portrayal of the vicious Withnail who barely shuts up long enough to down prodigious quantities of alcohol. Incidentally, in real life Grant is a teetotaller and had never been drunk prior to signing on for the film. Robinson felt that he could not play an alcoholic like Withnail unless he knew what it was like to be drunk, and so forced Grant to go on a drinking binge. Grant has said that he found the experience deeply unpleasant. McGann and Griffith are impressive in their roles, but Ralph Brown as permanently stoned drug dealer Danny walks away with every scene he appears in.
The film is largely autobiographical with Marwood being based on Robinson and Withnail being based on actor Vivian MacKerrell, with whom Robinson shared a house in the 1960s. The scene where Withnail drinks lighter fluid was taken from an incident where MacKerrell drank lighter fluid and, according to Robinson, was unable to see again for several days. In the film, unbeknownst to Grant, Robinson subsituted the water, that was originally going to be drank in the lighter fluid scene with vinegar. The subsequent vomiting was scripted, but the look of complete shock and disgust on Grant's face was entirely genuine.
There is a real sense in the movie of the end of an era. The wild carnival of the swinging sixites giving way to the long hangover of the seventies.


"We want the finest wines available to humanity. We want them here, and we want them now!"
-Withnail (Richard E. Grant) places his order in a quiet country tea shop in Withanil & I




Marwood (Paul McGann) and Withnail (Richard E. Grant) pause for reflection in Withnail & I