Review movies: Bunny and the Bull | Paul King | Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding

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The Review - AT THE MOVIES with DAN CARRIER
Published: 26 November 2009

Stephen, played by Ed Hogg, prepares for a journey without leaving his bedroom

A mighty good trip,
no bull!

BUNNY AND THE BULL
Directed by Paul king
Certificate 15

BUNNY and the Bull is a road movie, but one with a difference. It is set completely indoors – in a dingy flat owned by our hero, Stephen.
The pan-European trip we accompany him on takes place in his mind, and in doing so director Paul King has created a humorous and captivating tale that even if you are not a fan of the TV series The Mighty Boosh, which King also helped create, no matter. This film is so chock full of originality and downright strangeness that it will suck you in.
We meet Stephen (Edward Hogg), a reclusive fellow who has battened down the hatches and given the outside world the cold shoulder for the best part of a year, seemingly content to loll about his flat. He has an unenviable time of it – doing the same thing every day to set a routine. But when he begins to run out of food (a mischief of mice have nibbled their way through his stock of lasagnes) a trip through the front door seems inevitable.
Instead, his local seafood restaurant delivers a disgusting veggie option and suddenly Stephen’s mind begins to zoom backwards in time – and reveal to the viewer the reason for his malaise. It was a girl. Enter chum Bunny (Simon Farnaby), a swanky lothario, who believes his mate simply needs cajoling, and says it’s time the pair of them took a trip in the great outdoors to find lonely Stephen a mate.
A word about how the film was made. While we are “taken” across Europe, it was all shot in studios and uses amazingly creative props and special effects. King has created a cardboard set hewn from the litter from Stephen’s flat. It is another ingenious facet to the movie.
King has already shown his skill at cajoling top performances from his collaborators. His Mighty Boosh mates Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt step in with some typical crackly performances.
And the conclusion is also fun and satisfying. Top work.

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