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Starring |
Simon Phillips
,
Gemma Atkinson
,
Craig Conway
,
Billy Murray
,
Richard E Grant
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Directed By |
Dominic Burns
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Audio
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Dolby Digital 5.1
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Visuals
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2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
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Running Time |
104 mins
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UK Release Date |
February 6, 2012
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Genre |
Comedy
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Our Rating |
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User Rating |
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James is a loser. A virgin at 30 and with no skill at talking to women, after the death of his friend he decides to change his life. He meets Ampersand, a player, who agrees to teach him how to stop being a loser. You can probably guess where this is going. James succeeds in becoming a player, getting a girlfriend and abandoning his friends. But of course finds he prefers the company of his old friends and realises his female friend, a fellow ‘loser', loved him all along. The problem is that this plot has been done to death so many times that the film is totally predictable.
How To Stop Being A Loser could have been saved if it was at least funny, but no such luck. When you find yourself only mildly chuckling once every half hour at a ‘comedy', you know it's got to be bad. Simon Phillips plays James as far too much of a caricature, a pathetic stereotype of a nerd. Ampersand, played by Craig Conway, gets about three of the only good lines in the film, but it's impossible to buy that he would ever pull a woman with his techniques.
I did have some hope for the film's opening, which had some great dark humour, and features Richard E. Grant jumping in front of a train. Unfortunately the comedy in the rest of the film ranges from juvenile to pathetic, with the dark humour only appearing again during an incredibly awkward blind date. The jokes are far too obvious or downright stupid, like James hitting on a woman by asking if she is on her period! I'm not sure why they decided to give it the framing device of James visiting a psychiatrist either. These cutaways to his inappropriate therapist are mostly just annoying, as is the ‘shocking' reveal about what's really going on.
The special features of this film aren't worth checking out either. There's a commentary with the director and Craig Conway talking about the film's production which you might appreciate if you liked the film. The only other extra is a short feature on the premiere of the film, which is just plain boring.
Overall Verdict: With so many questions being raised recently about how to make the British film industry successful the answer seems obvious: don't make shit like this!
Special Features:
Commentary with director Dominic Burns and Craig Conway (Ampersand)
Premiere Featurette
Trailers
Reviewer: Matt Mallinson
