robrobinson-06829

I really enjoyed Season 1. Charlie Cale is a great character with a very special and unique talent, played to perfection by Natasha Lyonne and I was really looking forward to more of the same in Season 2., Unfortunately it started badly and episodes were hit and miss. I was disappointed that the same high standards had not been maintained: there have been some episodes of Season 2 that have been so poor I was tempted to not watch any more - but this one has renewed my faith in Poker Face to deliver. It is definitely the best one so far. A great set up and superbly played by the whole cast. I hope the final four can keep the standard up.

Well, I've just sat through this film after reading 8,9,10 star reviews for a 'hilarious' 'masterpiece', an 'overlooked gem' of a movie.

What planet are these other reviewers on? I'm genuinely puzzled as to how they can be so amused.

I kept waiting for it to start getting funny but I waited in vain: it just didn't happen and I never laughed once, not even a smile.

I could see in advance that the plot was fairly corny but I thought that with a cast list that included Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, and Vincent Price that at least the actors involved would lift it above the run of the mill. No such luck. They all tried their best but were hampered by a script that lacked humour and direction that lacked pace.

I'm know I'm the odd man out here amongst such gushing praise but this tedious tripe is really not a funny film.

I watched this as part of an Ealing Studios rarities collection. These collections are always hit and miss affairs with the quality of the films varying wildly from very good to, like this one, really, really poor.

First of all the story is weak beyond belief, concerning an ex docker appointed as Governor of a British colony in the Mediterranean. A situation like this has endless possibilities but the producers went for the lazy option of having the ex docker trying to quell a volatile dock strike. Normally in Ealing films a weak storyline can be overcome with charm but I'm afraid one actor put paid to any chance of that happening..... My main quibble is with the performance of Eric Portman as the new Governor. His portrayal of the no nonsense, plain speaking Yorkshireman is so bad it spills over into caricature and worse. He spends the whole film shouting and barking at everyone in sight. This goes beyond irritating and becomes incredibly annoying. I could hear and understand everyone else very clearly but at points he was unintelligible. I've seen Mr Portman in many films and he was a very good actor but he was terrible in this.

I've never given any film such a low star rating but I'm afraid Mr Portman is to blame for that. If you haven't seen it and you're tempted, please don't waste your time.