Here’s
one for the back catalogs: PC’s first onscreen role. It’s soooo ‘80s – like, devastatingly ‘80s –
but it’s kind of fun, and I had a good time watching.
Ritchie
Hannah is a rock star of the Next Big Thing variety, with a #1 single in his
pocket and a tour in full swing.
However, when he returns home to Glasgow for a funeral, his strained
marriage takes a nosedive. His wife
walks out on him, and Ritchie enlists the help of an old friend and a woman
from his label to help him find her.
PC’s
debut role is that of Joe, the wife’s boyfriend. Besides his disregard for marriage vows, Joe
is into music, likes a good time, and has some unsavory acquaintances. He also has no qualms about flirting with a
woman when her husband is in the room, despite his scrawny, non-intimidating
appearance.
It’s a
small role – most of the film is focused on Ritchie’s search, and so we only
see Joe and the wife in a handful of scenes.
Still, it’s interesting to see PC at the start of his career. That offbeat PC sensibility is there, but he’s
more than a little over-the-top. In Local Hero, made the same year, he’s
worlds better. Clearly, he learned to
reign in some of his kookier tendencies until he had a better handle on them.
My
favorite part of this movie is its use of music. With a rock star protagonist, there are of
course concert scenes and impromptu pub performances. There’s also compositional tinkering,
goof-off jam sessions, and absentminded melodizing. Plus, Ritchie makes up some absolutely
adorable numbers for his kids – love it.
Accent Watch
I think it might be RP. It’s all over the place, but knowing how
thick PC’s accent sounds in his early Scottish roles, he’s definitely putting
on something, and I think it’s RP.
Recommend?
In
General
– Maybe. Despite its extreme ‘80s-ness,
it’s enjoyable. Stories about the
everyday lives of famous people are interesting to me, and the story is told
playfully.
PC-wise – Not necessarily. As PC’s cinematic origin, it makes for an
intriguing watch, but he doesn’t have much screentime and he definitely hasn’t
harnessed his acting-magic yet.
Warnings
Sexual
content, drug references, and drinking.
A few mild scenes of violence and some incidental nudity (saunas, that
kind of thing.)
