Directed by: John Henderson She's blessed with good looks, she's sexy and has the voice of an angel. He's blessed with zero scruples, an ex-wife after alimony and up to his neck in debt. She's Marla Dorland (Jane Horrocks) a legend in her own time, ageing fast and about to sign with a rival record label. He's Marty Starr (Rik Mayall) the rock manager who transformed Marla, from Mavis Davis into a household name. Marty's in dire straits, the local mobster (Danny Aiello) has sent two hitmen to call in his loan. Inspired by the voice of Elvis Presley and a bottle of Scotch he sees a patch of escape and untold wealth. He's going to save Mavis from a lifetime of appointments with the plastic surgeon by arranging one major appointment with death! viewer's comments: - Great Madonna Spoof. Rik Mayall won my sense of humor in the wonderful 80s Britcom, "The Young Ones", which I highly recommend to the uninitiated. Jane Horrocks is extremely talented and does a great job. Danny Aiello plays a wonderfully smart and silly Mafia don. The film is silly. But, I still think silly is funny, when it is done with some intelligence. The best part of this film for me was the sprinkling of fabulously absurd character roles throughout the story. Aiello's bodyguards, the puerile hit man, the insecure security supervisor. All very clever. Ronald Pickup as Mayall's competition is also very funny. If you like the slappy end of Brit comedy, I think this film will satisfy you quite nicely. - Very underrated, very dark, very funny I, too, fail to understand why this flick has been trashed so completely. There seems to be an ever-increasing trend toward eschewing black humor because it 'isn't nice'. Well, so what! this movie is VERY dark and in several places absolutely hilarious. I admit that I did not know who Rik Mayall is, but I'll be looking for him in the future. Jane Horrocks is every bit as good as she was in "Little Voice", and the guy who played the contract killer is hysterical. Please don't pay any attention to the nay-sayers and catch this movie if you can. - Mayall at his scheming Best! It's true the Critics (both UK and US) hated this movie. Why? I dont know. I agree with another user's comments, that you have to be a Mayall fan to have enjoyed this film. Jane Horrocks once again proves what an all-round entertainer she is. Not only does she sing, but she also plays a convincing Bitch, and (in the flashbacks of the film) the Shy Mavis Davis before Stardom hits in. But I feel I have to mention Clint. Clint the hitman is hilarious in the movie. He comes highly recommended to Mayall, but its later discovered this is his first ever hit. Danny Aiello is also at his best in the movie. The film is full of visual humour too. Very good film. - You have to have seen Rick Mayall in the New Statesman to understand how well he can play a shifty businessman. Jane Horrocks performs very well (Particularly when you realise she does her own singing) and for me seemed very believable. Whilst some of the side plot lines may seem tenuous and dare I say it even a little dry, the whole piece spirals toward the climax of both the tour and the movie with Rick Mayall 's character bouncing in an emotional maelstrom between love and hate. (One of the smaller scenes which is actually very funny is when Mayle is being driven to see the gang boss. in a 30 second piece they manage to put a parody of Pulp Fiction and a very funny gag about answering questions. (In fact when they get to talk the secondary characters (and the thugs in particular) are given some great lines) If you can forgive the straight-to-tv look and like the Rick Mayall of Alan B'Stard instead of the Young ones or Bottom then this will have you laughing out loud. - Rik Mayall AND Jane Horrocks!! I do not understand why this move was slammed critically. Great premise and great cast. Very funny movie. A must for all anglophiles. Highly recommended. Credited cast: Daniel Abineri .... Bruce Danny Aiello .... Mr. Rathbone Justin Avoth .... Ponytail Man Nick Bartlett .... Roadie 2 Caspar Berry .... Young Man Ross Boatman .... Rock Star Anna Brecon .... Reporter Philip Martin Brown .... Inspector Furse Stuart Bunge .... Aspirant Nick Burnell (I) .... Maitre D' Hamish Clark .... TV Reporter Jonathan Copestake .... Roadie 3 Jo Farrell .... Kirsty Nick Fletcher (II) .... Reporter Rob Freeman (I) .... Brendan Ricky Grover .... Gary Belter Stewart Harwood .... Villain Mark Heap .... Duncan Suzannah Heath .... Reporter Jane Horrocks .... Marla Dorland/Mavis Davis Howard Karloff .... Cab Driver Paul Keating (I) .... Paul, Rathbone's Son Rik Mayall .... Marty Starr Jaclyn Mendoza .... Cynthia Gordon Milne .... Security Guard Anna Northam .... Reporter Steve O'Donnell (I) .... Lenny Ronald Pickup .... Percy Stone Corrina Preece .... Sarah Ben Richards .... Mark James Ryland .... Roadie 1 Jason Salkey .... Studio Engineer Paul Shearer .... Presenter 1980 Marc Warren (I) .... Clint Michael Wildman .... Hilary Heathcote Williams .... Jeff Runtime: 100 min Country: UK Language: English Color: Color
