This is a movie about a stressed out individual who goes through a series of increasingly stressful situations, mainly created by an irritatingly stress-free character whose main function seems to be to cause the main character stress.
If you don't mind that premise, it's an OK film. Personally I didn't find it that funny - it has its moments, it's pretty well written - but it's essentially part of that "hilarious comedy" sub-genre with a road trip/race against time twist.
If it was a bit funnier, the fact that it's pretty silly at times and involves a spectacular character u-turn at around about the expected point in the running time without any real explanation, I maybe wouldn't have minded, but for me this is a film that wants to be a bit more meaningful than your average comedy. It doesn't hit the mark from this point of view at all.
It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, I quite like Robert Downey Jr and he's pretty good. If you're still not sure whether to watch it or not, see whether you find the following funny...
The angry, frustrated character gets shirty with an unhelpful Western Union clerk and makes disparaging remarks about his claims of having served in the Gulf. The clerk reveals that he's in a wheelchair and proceeds to give Angry Guy a beating.
So then. I'd been told how good this was, but I must admit I approached it with a certain amount of prejudice. British film...period drama...I was expecting something well-made and worthy, probably a bit slow-paced and dull in places though.
I was wrong. I enjoyed this from start to finish. In many ways it's a simple story, and the ending isn't going to be a surprise to anyone, but the journey is so enjoyable. The performance - all the performances - are just excellent. The casting is perfect. The pace is exactly right. The script is a treat - not overdone, well-judged, natural in feel but surprisingly profound in places. The film is really moving, in quite unexpected ways. As the credits started to roll in the cinema, there was a moment when I thought the audience were going to applaud. I felt like applauding.
I don't want to single any particular scene out, because I want you to go and see it for yourself. We'll talk after :)
