Staggered

This often overlooked gem from Martin Clunes is one of my favorite films of all time. The typical British comedy style is on show, with ecentric characters (bondage parties by Welsh door-to-door sales men) and a central character who you do geniunely feel sympathetic for in his fight to get to his wedding on time. However the highlight of the film is the beautiful Anna Chancellor as Carman, the goth pathologist who Gary picks up on his travels. With a perfect ending and tale of the underdog its defiantly worth renting or catching on TV.

When I recently checked the TV schedules and saw that this was on the menu I made sure that I programmed my video recorder, and I was not disappointed with the end product! Martin Clunes is the hapless groom who is spirited away to a remote Scottish island by his devious best mate, and has to find his way back to the church on time to tie the matrimonial knot. There are plenty of laughs along the way and Sylvia Syms is superb as Margaret, the domineering mother-in-law from hell, who detests the very sight of poor Neil (Clunes). Griff Rhys Jones is great as the pervy salesman, resplendent in leather/spiky bondage pants! The characterisation is spot-on throughout and the performances make for an entertaining romp, even though you have to suspend belief for some of the scenes (I'm sure a that a near-naked man would arouse more interest even at a remote Scottish airport, but that is a very minor point). Even Neil Morrissey, Clunes's sidekick from the hit comedy "Men Behaving Badly" gets in on the act as the wedding videographer. All in all, a very engaging British comedy which had me smiling and laughing out loud more than I could have previously imagined. (8/10)

A very good effort by Martin Clunes that has been overlooked by a lot of people. Brilliant characterisation and plot, the only drawback was the rather slow plot development at the start. The chemistry between Neil and Carmen was electric. The hope is there will be a sequel

I saw this several times when it first came out and shortly afterwards on DVD (rental), then couldn't find it on DVD for years to rent or to buy. I have just purchased my first DVD for over ten years simply to own this classic film again. They don't make them like this any more, unfortunately. This movie is one of the very few out there that you can't find anywhere online, on the yohoho sites for example. I can't think why that is because there are many thousands of movies out there that i would definitely consider to be utter drek compared to this movie. Twilight and High school musical are prime examples, i had the misfortune to have these thrust upon me when spending time with an ex-girlfriend's kids - i wish i could remove the damaged portion of my brain that was exposed to that drivel. Anyway, Staggered is awesome.

The reason I decided to watch "Staggered" is because I really like Martin Clunes in his British TV show "Doc Martin". However, there isn't a lot about this 1994 film that reminds me of the great TV show.

"Staggered" is directed by and stars Clunes. He's Neil...a guy anticipating his wedding in only a few days. However, he has no idea that his Best Man is a total scum-bag and goes out to celebrate with Gary. Gary drugs Neil and Neil awakens to find himself in the middle of no where in Scotland....naked! The rest of the film consists of Neil trying to make it back to London for his wedding and finding, again and again, that Gary and his unknown co- conspirator will stop at nothing to stop the wedding--even if it means setting him up for crimes he's never committed.

I think the idea of the film is quite good. But I give this one a 5 because too many times the plot just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. It took way too long for Neil to realize that Gary was not his friend (who is THAT naive?!), his inexplicable and easy escape and many, many serious problems just magically resolved themselves. Overall, good for a few laughs but not a particularly distinguished film.