Director: Dominic Burns
Cast: Gemma Atkinson, Simon Phillips, Craig Conway, Stephanie Leonides, Martin Compston, Richard E Grant
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: Atypical loser James (Simon Philips) dreams of a life surrounded by women but is unable to speak to them. After his best friend Ian (Richard E Grant) kills himself, James receives a video from Ian begging with him to find a girl and turn his life around. As a result James contacts Ampersand (Craig Conway), an unorthodox motivational speaker who vows to change James into a ladies’ man…
You know what you’re in for the when a film’s title sequence starts with the opening lines of Wheatus’ Teenage Dirtbag. It evokes memories of teen comedies from the late 1990s and all through the 2000s, and with that comes certain expectations. Fortunately, HOW TO STOP BEING A LOSER does not disappoint.
The film opens with a bang as near-national institution Richard E Grant (WITHNAIL & I) fails to chat up a girl then jumps in front of a train. Even with this reasonably gruesome beginning, the film steamrolls ahead into all-out comedy territory as Simon Phillips abandons the ‘hardman’ from his past roles (JACK FALLS, CUT, THE LAST SEVEN) with his overly geeky and desperate performance as the bespectacled James. He manages to strike up a believable and wholly enjoyable partnership with love guru Ampersand (Craig Conway) who manages to steal the majority of scenes he’s involved in. Whilst most characters do get their comedic moment, Ampersand supplies most of the laughs with his grand gesticulation and wild ideas about women. Unlike most UK or Hollywood romantic/coming-of-age comedies, this film manages to fit in a strong but subtle sub-plot for Ampersand, creating a fuller persona rather than the usual one dimensional joker.
On the back of the JACK trilogy and the upcoming AIRBORNE and UFO, director Dominic Burns and his crew have a reputation for surprising cameos: Richard E Grant is the catalyst for the whole story, Gemma Atkinson (HOLLYOAKS) is the beautiful bloodsucker of a girlfriend, Martin Kemp (EASTENDERS) is God of the love gurus and Neil Maskell (KILL LIST) – one of the UK’s most promising stars – is the entertaining but still-menacing gangster.
The film is essentially a mixture of many of the lude American comedies that followed AMERCIAN PIE (1999), but it’s still heartening to see a British director have a proper crack at the genre. Director Dominic Burns is known for chasing new challenges following one shot feature with CUT and the modern noir, JACK FALLS. With HOW TO STOP BEING A LOSER, he’s taken on the conventional American comedy, and given a sincere British centre.
HOW TO STOP BEING A LOSER is nowhere near perfect: certain story elements feel stretched and there is a lean towards hackneyed, Americanised dialogue. But the project shows solid potential from everyone involved, creating a warm, homely alternative to generic Hollywood offerings. Another hit from the Brit pack, it’s an ambitious comedy with all the heart of a John Hughes classic.
HOW TO STOP BEING A LOSER arrives in cinemas 18th November
