Perfectly adorable

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

On paper there is a lot to get excited about with Mindhorn. The cast is deep with talent that comes with a lot to like - particularly the links to a style of humor that is Mighty Boosh, and Alan Partridge. On top of this the location of Isle of Mann, and the 'faded x-list celebrity" held out hope that the tragic and cringey element of the comedy would be well formed. It isn't to be though, and the film never really gets into that space even though it is clearly trying to do so.There are moments where this works, and it can be occasionally very funny, but mostly it only half-hits, misfires, or gets too silly. The setup takes too long, the final 30 minutes are far too silly in the detail. It does still manage to be quite funny, but I couldn't shake the feeling of it being inconsistent, and lacking a clear conviction for what it was trying to do. I guess part of my reservation was that I was looking for it to be something it wasn't, because I wanted more of that tragic cringe comedy which would have had Mindhorn be more like Partridge - and the bits I enjoyed the most were the bits that pained me the most.The cast work hard to make it all work, and even when the written elements don't really work, the cast are still good. I am surprised by how many big names and recognizable faces they got involved in this, and then at the same time it also then feels like a missed opportunity that they couldn't make the film as a whole rise to that level.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningRichard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt) was the star of the iconic Mindhorn detective programme that was a big hit in the late 80s, but since then his star has waned and he's now an out of work actor desperately trying to recapture his former glory. But his salvation may have come in the shape of something off-camera, as a serial killer has begun murdering young women on the Isle of Mann, where his hit show was filmed, and will only speak with Thorncroft, believing his TV alter ego to be a real person.The 1980s may be long gone, but the nostalgia and sentimental value that yields for many of the cop themed TV shows that permeated the era still persists, and, given the unquenchable kitschy charm of them, likely forever will. And so, debut director Sean Foley has chosen a fairly inspired idea for the kick start to his career behind the camera. But, while he manages to drain a few laughs out of it, sadly it quickly becomes a massive sinking ship.While it's true that affection for 80s cop shows is very high, it's also true that many of the lead actors in those shows at the time were one hit wonders, who may have been able to ride the coattails of success on that one character but have otherwise faded into total obscurity, and so Mindhorn is inspired in more ways than one. However, while the premise has sparkle, the plot of a serial killer murdering young women is just too dark and depressing to fit in to this frame, even if none of the murders are shown.There are one or two good belly-laughs towards the beginning, but they fail to maintain consistency throughout the whole film, and so, it's little more than a wasted disappointment. **

British comedy has almost become extinct in cinema. Sure it's all over British TV and stars like Ricky Gervais, James Corden and Sacha Baron Cohen have broken out into Hollywood, but traditional, truly independent British comedy films are few and far between... Or they just haven't been showing at my local cinema, but I like to think I'm right in saying British comedy has found a home on television. Mindhorn is a traditional British comedy that sadly offers absolutely nothing new, funny or particularly interesting, to the comedy genre.The film opens with a mockumentary of the making of a B movie styled 80's show. This direction taken by director Sean Foley is, in my opinion, the highlight of the film and I would have preferred the film to adopt this style for the rest of its run time, thus making Mindhorn extremely unique. Unfortunately this style is taken only to provide context for the rest of the film, which is a shame as this film could have really had some potential. As well as the films start, Julian Barrett and Russell Tovey's performances carry the film and are the reason any of the jokes come off as somewhat amusing... Well for me at least.This film is a comedy, so the big question is "Is Mindhorn funny?" Now personally, I did not find Mindhorn funny, the film may make you smile a couple times and maybe exhale-out-the-nose-laugh once, but ultimately the film isn't very funny and this is down to the traditional nature of the film and the fact that the jokes aren't original. This film will however please older, more traditional audiences who find comedies like 'Allo 'Allo! and Only Fools and Horses hilarious after the 30th repeat on Gold. For me though, more or less every joke is a British comedy cliché and I am thus desensitised to Mindhorn's many attempts at humour. The film does have some clever and original jokes but you can count them on one hand. For the most part, Mindhorn takes a tried and tested formula and uses it. It's just unfortunate that this formula only really works for a small audience in the world.To conclude, Mindhorn is a very traditional, very British, very unoriginal comedy film. Julian Barrett and Russell Tovey display good acting and the opening sequence offers an interesting style that is unfortunately not continued. If you enjoy traditional British comedy and find that the same old jokes crack you up every time, then you will enjoy Mindhorn. But if you are like me and look for something a bit different, original and outside the box, then Mindhorn is probably not the film for you. It's truth time, and the truth is Mindhorn isn't good.

Well I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. It probably isn't for everyone, e.g. if you are too old or too young or from another planet. But if you remember British cop dramas from the 70s and 80s – with a bit of Starsky and Hutch thrown in (and if you have a sense of humour) then you should find some real laugh-out-loud moments here. I found it great, light-hearted, rather slapstick fun, and I will enjoy seeing this again some day.