Second film from music producer Jonathan King and political figure/filmmaker Paul Wiffen, another musical, wider appeal than their first.
Story focuses on newbie at Britain's biggest tabloid, The Moon. Geddit?
Jane Fellowes, played with gusto by Scarlett Emmanuelle, a sweet, naive student, is tasked by editor, Marshall Artes to 'smash' open a huge story about a rising street artist, BabyDraw, who paints large babies in a Banksy type manner on to open spaces. BabyDraw's pictures are daft but this is the very core of the film. Why and how are media sensations created and what for, or more importantly, who for?
Attractive Scarlett Emmanuelle is here made up more like a WAG than a journalist, presumably intended to be a slight on the tabloid fixation with 'fake' women. Daniel Jefferson's Artes is a timely conflict between authoritarian leader and a man without any real idea of what he is doing.
Jane finds 'BabyDraw', an art student, Johnny Bambino, played by Henry Stansall, who regardless of what has been said lacks the charisma of Robert Pattinson and does not resemble him or Daniel Radcliffe at all.
Despite that though Stansall is a fresh faced young man, out of his depth here with what could have been a slightly meatier role but more apt at his main career, the band 'Red Lights One' with his real life brother Rupert Stansall – here playing brother Jay Fratello.
Rupert also lacks real star quality as an actor but as a performing sibling duo the pair are a decent band and on the looks side have obvious appeal for, probably, largely teenage girls and gay men.
As Jane breaks the story Bambino becomes a huge media sensation with the BBB reaking (modelled on BBC but is 'reeking' intended as comment?) news seemingly reporting only on BabyDraw. The Moon feels some ownership leading Bambino to record producer Ben Volio, a star performance from Jonathan Benda.
Fantastically disinterested in his protégée, Volio muses on the benefits of fame with void eyes and a steady drone of a voice, a flawless performance. His secretary, played by Jane Tulett is also perfectly cast. These two inspired performances culminate in a wonderful singing and dancing sequence like something from a modern 'The Wizard of Oz' (which Tulett previously starred in on stage). With his awkward Tin Man dancing alongside a sexed up and frankly quite pretty Dorothy the scene is one of the film's best and most surreal moments.
Alongside Bambino's thrust in to fame is the romance between Jane and Bambino, a fairly unconvincing love story though tabloid friendly.
This is second though to the social commentary on the way the media leads our lives and how we are, even if we deny it, largely led by it. In the middle of all this Fratello is also falling in love with Jane's friend, Tabby (Olu Ubadike). Tabby is not a central character but manages to grab a short solo moment in a totally bizarre and not sure if it really works moment, idolising one of her own icons. Though rather out of place the scene in itself is amusing and Ubadike does a ridiculous song well.
The other two slightly random moments that keep cropping up are two other vocal groups. Aside from 'Red Lights One' who get to perform several tracks with Bambino singing and Fratello on instruments, the film also features a Goth band, 'Gogmagog' (played by real band 'Falling Red') who though perfectly good enough seem to have no real purpose in their couple of scenes and are quite disjointed from the general story.
The third band is 'The Sirens' a.k.a. 'The Angelettes' (three women, a kind of modern The Shangri-Las). The actresses Perry Kate Lambert (who also does the snippets of narration in the film); Suevia Perez-Castro and Ria Lopez star as Crystal Siren, Loud Siren and Baby Siren respectively and provide the film with a few 'fantasy' moments and it's most memorable song 'Don't Let Him Touch You'.
All three Sirens perform well but it is Ria Lopez, as weirdly the least used of the three, who has a screen presence combining a graceful aura with a subtle sexuality that allow her to become one of the best performances here. Her vocals are also spot on.
After a string of number one hits and with the media pimping his every move, Bambino decides to have one last attempt at creating the ultimate BabyDraw baby, his most controversial painting yet.
Thus the film takes perhaps a slightly surprising turn with a sudden short series of events that are unforeseen until now. After so many songs and so little drama it is no surprise however that the films' big finale is carried out at the speed of an express train with the viewer barely able to recollect what has happened previously before it is all over.
Director Paul Wiffen does a commendable job of linking the song performances with spoken script, rarely, indeed barely, does the film feel disjointed - even the rather irrelevant moments are never particularly laborious. Writer and Producer Jonathan King, who also features briefly in a rather cool religious parody scene, does a grand job of creating a daft but purposeful story with real vigour and some - though not all - brilliant songs. Meanwhile the comical miming of the songs works well as the comment that it is on the superficiality of it all but there is a slight yearning for a 'live' performed version, perhaps in the vein of 'Jerry Springer: The Opera'.
Overall, a highly inventive film with a wonderful array and diversity of creative people. None bad. Most good. Some exceptional. Put aside your prejudices - helped by the fact that this is free to view online - and watch this rainbow of a film.
So, there is my movie poster quote, 'Me Me Me', "A rainbow of a film".
