If you don’t know who Leigh Francis or Keith Lemon is or have never heard of Bo’ Selecta! then there may not be much point in you reading further. On the other hand, if you do…read on.
And just for those that read on out of curiosity, Leigh Francis is the creator and man behind the tan of Keith Lemon and a multitude of spoof characters with big rubber masks on Bo’ Selecta! Hence this is Keith Lemon’s big screen debut.
A sleazy type of character, rocking the fake tan and an interesting hair do not to mention a magnificent moustache, Keith Lemon is setting up his own business. Selling poles that will stop people robbing your car. On a trip to London, he becomes a billionaire after a chance meeting with another entrepreneur. And from there he spends his billions while his old friend and girlfriend (who’s held to ransom) are more or less forgotten about. That’s the plot, complete and utter bonkers and executed with even more madness.
I’m a big fan of Leigh Francis and his Keith Lemon character is genuinely likeable, but the movie version proves yet again that its incredibly tough to turn a sketch show character into a big screen character for 90 odd minutes. The story, as idiotic as it is, does have its heart in the right place. Unfortunately, the pacing is far too frantic and at times the whole thing seems to be in hyperspeed and far too random. While it might be a display of editing prowess, it proves nothing but a distraction at times. Francis as always is great and while his supporting cast (mainly made up of celebs playing themselves) is limited, Verne Troyer proves a decent sidekick.
It’s by no means a complete disaster as the humour at times is genuinely brilliant and there are a number of real laugh out loud moments here. Coupled up with more celebrity cameos than has ever been in any movie, you get an average nights entertainment…and thats for the fans. Unfortunately those who have no idea who or what he is, may be unmoved by Francis’s humour and the gigantic out pouring of British stars in their cameo roles, even though some of them are really great. And we’ll say nothing about the ending, absolutely nothing.
If you’re a fan of Leigh Francis and his characters, there’s something here for you, but even as a lifelong fan of the guy I found it hard going at times. If you’re not a fan though you may well struggle with this. Still though, you have to give credit to Leigh Francis for getting this together, its just a pity that its hyper style at times proves more distraction than satisfaction as the humour will make everybody laugh from time to time. All that said though, the love scene between himself and Kelly Brook may just be worth the price of admission alone!
