It may seem odd that the first post for a blog concerned primarily with classic British comedy would kick off with a brand new movie, but I just watched
Wild Target for the second time and wanted to get my thoughts down while they are still fresh.
Directed by Johnathan Lynn (
Nuns On The Run
) the film is about an uptight hitman Victor(Bill Nighy) who falls in love with his current target Rose (Emily Blunt) and instead attemps to protect her along with his gormless apprentice Tony (Rupert Grint). Rose has upset a big shot art collector (Rupert Everett) by conning him out of a million pounds, and after Victor screws the pooch, he hires the sadist Dixon (Martin Freeman) to take them both out. After a close call at a hotel, Victor takes his surreal "family" back to his country home where they set up house.
Apparently the movies been getting crappy reviews all over the place, though frankly I don't see why. While not destined to become a classic by any means, the film is funny (always good in a comedy), clever, and charming. The performances are uniformly good, even from minor characters, and the humour manages to walk the fine line between dark and whimsical quite deftly.
There's two major problems I have with the film. The first is that, in their efforts to establish Rose as a amoral, selfish, conniving crook at the beginning, the filmmakers undermine the later romance between herself and Victor. To be honest, right until the last minute it's hard to tell whether she really loves Victor or is using him (and I don't think they were trying to be coy, so I'm not giving anything away here). The second is an extension of that--the 20 or so minutes in the second half when the movie drops everything and tries to be a romantic comedy. It doesn't work. The dark comedy is fine, the dry comedy is fine, even the slapstick is fine, but the romantic comedy was one ingredient too many. But that's a minor quibble in an otherwise enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours.
Chef 
was a very successful sitcom featuring Lenny Henry as irascible chef Gareth Blackstone. It ran from 1993 to 1996 (three seasons) and is focussed largely in the kitchen of Blackstock's restaurant, with some scenes taking place between Blackstock and his long-suffering wife, who also happens to manage the restaurant. Everton Stonehead, a lowly kitchen worker, is Blackstock's comic foil throughout all three seasons--the only member of the kitchen staff who appears in all seasons. The kitchen staff in season one is rounded out by Lucinda, Otto and Peirs (all of whom leave after the first season). Later seasons attempted to inject a ensemble feeling into the kitchen scenes, with mixed results--in this first season Blackstock and Everton are the centre of attention, with the rest of the cast unobstrusively supporting the two lead roles. Lucinda in particular, was missed in the latter seasons--I think her character could have moved into the spotlight a bit more, as Claire Skinner does manage to steal whatever scenes she is featured in.
Although each episode is self-contained, each series also has an overriding story arc--in this first season that largely consists of Blackstock's aquisition of the restaurant and Everton's faltering first steps into the world of fine-dining. The season's all have something to commend them, however the first series has the highest proportion of standout episodes (the best episode of all--featuring Blackstock in France for a culinary competition--is in the second series). Despite all three lead characters being black, the focus is on the world of cooking, which is handled very well. The only episode with race at it's centre is the sixth episode where Blackstock's father appears at the restaurant and accused his son of forgetting his roots and forcing Blackstock to turn to Everton when his own attempts at Carribean cuisine are disastrous. It is one of the best episodes of an otherwise fine season.
