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James Lance as Harry in Mr Right |
Soap comes to Soho
MR RIGHT
Directed by Jacqui Morris
Certificate 18
I'M not a fan of soap operas.
I haven’t watched EastEnders since the Dirty Den days (and then it was only – I swear – because a girlfriend I lived with was a fan). I can just about recall the fact that Brookside (remember?) had Ricky Tomlinson in it, otherwise, um, that is about it.
But perhaps my entrenched allergy to soaps may be clearing up, because this London-made indie flick is basically a feature-length soap opera, and I found myself eventually enjoying the cheap and tacky experience it offers.
Although it is totally awful in places, like any soap it draws you in and makes you want to see the next episode.
Made by sibling team Jacqui and David Morris the action focusses on the lives and loves of a gang of good looking men.
They live, love, get hurt, break up, make up and generally mooch about Soho, trying to work out what they can do to find Mr Right.
At first the often wooden acting grates as does the shallow, boring and self-obsessed lives these main characters lead. I couldn’t help but hope they all spend their dotage lonely and miserable.
But then something happened: the awfulness of this bunch begins to have strange merits of its own, and by halfway through I was hooked, and rooting for them all to find Prince Charmings.
It is a cluttered ensemble: Harry is a TV producer for terrible daytime home makeover shows, who has a yearning to quit and go travelling. He is in love with long-haired Alex, an unsuccessful actor.
At one point, we follow Alex back to his family home up North and in one of the best scenes of the film we watch him have to face his father and brother’s homophobia. The outcome of this scene is brilliant.
Then there is the former rugby player, William, who has a nine-year-old daughter none to keen on Dad’s new boyfriend, a hospital drama star called Lawrence.
Then there is Lars, a total creep, who is kept in smart outfits by his artist boyfriend Tom.
There is an element of freshness about this as its gay characters are not stand-up comic-camp, as screen portrayals of gay men so often are.
But isn’t it depressing that today this point even needs to be made?
As far as the gay angle goes, for a good romantic comedy featuring two men, this film is simply not in the same league as Hettie MacDonald’s 1996 film Beautiful Thing.
That is truly romantic, truly a comedy, and it makes Mr Right look like Crossroads. |
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