Plot Summary
Neil (Rick Mayall) is about to be married and is celebrating in the time honored tradition of the stag night. His friends hire a strippagram by the name of Pandora (Helena Bonham Carter) but Neil is so intoxicated he doesn't take any notice of the young girl as she goes through her routine. His friends have also hatched a typical stag night jape; they put him on a train that, unknown to them, gets diverted to the seaside town of Scarborough. When Neil finally wakes from his drunken haze, without his trousers and with an alarm clock taped to his head, he is sitting opposite Pandora. Together they embark on a race against time to ensure Neil gets back to Maidstone for his rather grand wedding to Sophie. But as the minutes tick by, Neil starts to wonder if his intended, and married life, is indeed what he wants...
General Review
This is a nice little gem, without any Rik Mayall nonsense as one would expect. A small film, sharing some light on that ever burning question: what do we want from life anyway? Not that this movie gives many answers to this one, but... Well Neil rearranges his plan for his life and finally seems to be happy and that is simply because he chooses the right girl for himself. What a surprise! Well as you might have guessed from my words: If you'd expect some new thoughts on that every burning question, you won't find any new ideas in this one. But it is done nicely, quietly and with a good sense of humor in it. And that's not too bad, right? Helena Bonham Carter was obviously very happy to play a stripper (uuhh, not a period drama again...) and the whole cast appears to have had big fun while shooting this movie. Fun stuff without any deep philosophical insights.
Nat Review
We regret to tell you that this is one of the - ohhh yes - smallest roles we have ever since seen of Nat. The character he plays is a lot like Jamie Jasper in Inspector Morse. A happy-go-lucky with no sense of reason. That's what starts the whole fun, but that isn't really the point in the plot, just the trigger for it. Nat seems to enjoy the whole thing and he relishes in making the nonsense work. He's looking great in this one and I especially liked the scene in which he has to explain to the not-yet-mother-in-law that he doesn't know where the groom is... unbelievable!
Status
Out on DVD in a collector's box celebrating Rik Mayall's shows.