Men Up

A most entertaining movie. It is done with great sensitivity, utilising great actors. The story is both sad and heartwarming. By the time it's over, you laughed a lot, wiped away a few tears, and got angry a few times. It's really well done, happy to have watched it. It shows a very vulnerable side of men, and how inept society can be when approaching it. It is thought provoking, but not boring or forced. Lately there has been an amazing abundance of absolute rubbish movies where one just can't figure out how on Earth they got green lit, so it is very refreshing to see a recent film that has heart, talent, and a story that can keep the viewer's interest.

Modest Brit-dramedy "Men Up" is the true tale of Pfizer's first clinical trial of what would become the revolutionary Viagra - held in 1994 by Dr Aneurin Barnard (supported by nurse Joanna Page) at Swansea's Morriston Hospital, focussed on a group of men with diabetes related impotency (inc Iwan Rheon, Paul Rhys, Steffan Rhodri, Mark Lewis Jobes & Phaldut Sharma). The performances are decent, while director Ashely Way & writer Matthew Barry keep the tone light & the drama lukewarm as the group bonds while the pill gives clues to the impacts it'll have on their lives and their partners (inc Alexandria Roach, Alexandria Riley & Nathan Sussex). Mild but passable fare.

How refreshing it is to watch a program set outside London and not be distracted by fake accents or characters shoehorned in to the script.

A well put together cast with a range of threads running through the main narrative. The film isn't going to break any records but it tells an interesting story from different points of view. It doesn't try to be anything it's not by going over the top with the storylines or time-period references.

The story itself is one that deserves to be told and the film is sympathetic to the feelings of people that would have taken part in the real life trials.

An enjoyable watch, which should be praised for concentrating on telling the story.

Wow ! What a sensitive subject mixed with breast cancer, diabetes, the tribulations of being gay, suicide and a VHS video player that expires. Swansea, The Gower, Morriston Hospital adds a poignancy to the plot especially as my family roamed from the Rhondda.

The cast were well balanced and it was fantastic not to be swamped by the star syndrome. Meurig played by Iwan Rheon just about stole it with his sensitivity, vulnerability and imitation of a boy who went up a mountain as a boy and came down as a man.

The surprising use of humour without being smutty was the master stroke. ( Oops ...see it's almost impossible to avoid double entendres ). The variety of outcomes for the not famous five was very different and yet believable. A great body of work from writer Matthew Barry and director Ashley Way.

Didn't know what to expect from a drama about a drug that treats erectile dysfunction and impotence. What I got was frank yet not gritty (as is usually the case), set in 90s Wales but not bleak, about sex but not sexy; all in all, it felt real, and did it's best to address as many different experiences of the men undergoing the trial as possible. I really enjoyed it. There are some excellent, believable performances in there too with (thankfully) no fake-sounding Welsh accents. There are 5 men to follow and somehow you end up caring about all of them, and their partners. Stefan Rhodri and Mark Lewis Jones' characters have some beautiful moments and stop Iwan Rheon stealing the slow. Definitely worth 87 minutes of your time.