KBT Presents: A COCK AND BULL STORY

Who is the most consistently funny nation on this chaotic planet? Despite humour being as subjective as it is, it is safe to say that the UK is near or at the top of the pile. And one of their best recent films is born out of some of countries top TV comedy talent combined with one of their most innovative and diverse filmmakers.

The Life and Opinion’s of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman an 18^th century novel which was published in 9 volumes over a period of as many years (and at the end of the story, the lead character has yet to be born). It has not been read my many (myself included), but it here and there it is regarded as a minor literary classic, perhaps as much for its vaunted length as its meta-leanings (post-‘modern’ before there was a ‘modern’). Considering the difficulty the writers seem to have in adopting a relatively lean Harry Potter novel (#'s 1 and 2), one of the best jokes of the film is that anyone would even try to make a film out of this novel (what’s next Finnegans Wake?). Thus the movie becomes less about the film of Tristram Shandy and more of a study of making the film about Tristram Shandy, with all the personality, ego, frustration, attention to detail and just plain waiting involved in the creative process of making a film (which is also, maybe, an allegory for creating good comedy). The banter between the leads, played by two top-shelf comedians, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon is brilliant, as are the fine (and diverse) collection of supporting players, from Jeremy Northam and Gillian Anderson to Naomi Harris (currently seen in two current summer blockbusters Pirates of the Caribbean and Miami Vice ) and UK TV comedians: Dylan Moran , David Walliams and Ashley Jensen.

Fancifully titled A Cock and Bull story, Michael Winterbottom’s film thrives on letting the actors breathe, as the director switches effortlessly between the film-within-the-film and the story of making the film, with lots of little asides along the way. Not many comedies have as much brains and bravado as this one. Come for the Al Pacino impression stay for the British showmanship (cock and bull included).