The Big Tease (1999)

When I sat down to see this film, I expected a mix of Drop Dead Gorgeous and The Drew Carey Show(because of it being a mockumentary and it starring Craig Ferguson whom I know mainly from that show). I don't know exactly to describe what I got instead. The humor seems fairly thin, and based on clichés and stereotypes I never even knew existed. The gags and jokes don't seem as silly-funny or stupid-funny as... not funny at all. I understand Ferguson wrote the script, at least in part. I don't know if he's to blame for the shoddy writing and poor humor, but I would guess so. The film has a few celebrity cameos, but they're really there to bring even more bad jokes and make fun of themselves. The plot is fairly good, and somewhat original, but quickly descends into yet another fish-out-of-water run-of-the-mill happy-ending fairy tale about some guy triumphing over adversity. The pacing is awful... the film barely seems to move at all during the less than 90 minute running time. The acting is fair. The characters are all paper-thin, with everyone whose side we're supposed to be on being goody-goody and their enemies being caricatures of bad people. Weirdest thing about this film is... for the first half or so, it seemed pretty funny. Larry Miller was great fun to watch, as was Donal Logue. From there on end, it just went downhill. I don't know, other people might enjoy it. Maybe I'm just not into Ferguson's humor. I recommend this to fans of Craig Ferguson and possibly one or more of the other comedians/comic actors in it. If you happen to catch it and you enjoy Miller's typical act in films, you should at least watch until the end of his scenes. He is one of the few redeeming features of the film. 5/10

The documentary filmmaker Martin Samuels joins Scottish hairdresser Crawford Mackenzie as he sets out for LA to take part in the Platinum Scissors Hairdressing competition. On arrival he runs up a large hotel bill before discovering that his `invitation' is not to compete but to attend in the audience. Out of his hotel and out of money, Crawford tries to get into the competition and wins over the trend setters of Beverly Hills and, with a little bit of luck and deceit tries to work his way into the contestI had never heard of this film prior to it's TV premier in the UK, I imagine it's the same with a lot of people – it's a British comedy but it never managed to get the same high profile as more notable successes. However this is not to take from this film as it is pretty funny and gently amusing. The plot is nonsense but I think that is the point – it's is increasingly absurd – just like the actual competition and Hollywood lifestyle that Crawford finds himself thrust into. The comedy is rarely hilarious but it is consistently funny nonetheless – being more amusing than rip-roaring. The sheer wit and energy of the film manages to carry it over the odd dry spell.Ferguson is suitably flaming as Crawford and is sweetly naïve for the most part. Langham is very dry as Samuels and I wanted him to have more screen time than he did – many other mock-documentaries have successfully made much better use of the dry humour of the interviewer. The support cast are good on the whole and don't mind making fun of themselves. Rasche is good as the two-faced Stig. While comedy cameos from Drew Carey and David Hasselhoff work well. Miller is always value for money and is good in his brief scene.Overall this is a nice short little comedy that is lively and absurd. It is rarely hilarious but you'll watch it with a consistent smile on your face. Perfect if you're in a silly mood and looking for something with a bit of fizz.

There's something indefinable about this movie that I adore... I don't know whether it's the superb performances by Ferguson and Langham, or the great script, or the wonderful camoes (Larry Miller is a genius)...Whatever it is, this is a great movie - one of those movies that you want to watch over and over. Why isn't Craig Ferguson a bigger star? Just comparing his role in this movie with his "Mr Wick" character on the Drew Carey show proves that he's one of the most versatile and engaging actors around.

This film is similar in style to This is Spinal Tap, they've even paid tribute to some of the classic scenes from the Spinal Tap movie.Following a Scottish hairdresser trying to get into a competition, the film is a huge laugh, but not as big as I would have hoped. Unfortunately it just gets a bit too thin on the ground on occasions, and you're just hoping that there will be some joke soon.That aside you cant complain. Even Sara Gilbert is in it!