BRIAN AND CHARLES
Cert PG ★★★★ In cinemas now
The budget for this quirky Brit flick probably wouldn’t even cover Chris Hemsworth’s gym membership.
But writers David Earl and Chris Hayward and director Jim Archer have assembled something rather miraculous out of some very unlikely parts – an offbeat buddy comedy that blends wry smiles with moments of heartfelt emotion.
This charming mockumentary marks the big screen debut of Earl’s comedy alter ego Brian Gittins, here a bearded, cabbage-obsessed inventor knocking up ridiculous gadgets in a cow shed in rural Wales.
“You try things. You don’t succeed. You just got to keep trying,” he tells the camera after his “flying cuckoo clock” explodes on the runway.
The next project is even more ambitious. After finding a mannequin’s head and an old washing machine, Brian decides to make a friend. Literally.
His 7ft robot whirs into life in the middle of a thunderstorm, just like Frankenstein’s monster. After a difficult start, a touching friendship develops between man and machine (Hayward), who chooses the name Charles Petrescu.
Brian is smitten with “cheeky Charles” who speaks with a stilted English accent and dances excitedly whenever he enters the room.
His new best friend is desperate for adventure but Brian, already considered the village oddball, is desperate to keep him indoors to protect him from “a perilous world”.
However, the new friendship inspires Brian to step out of his own comfort zone, starting a tentative romance with fellow misfit Hazel (Louise Brealey).
But when Charles is discovered by bullying farmer Eddie (Jamie Michie), Brian’s journey back into society takes a truly perilous turn. The finale, featuring a van chase and cabbage gun, isn’t quite as slick as the one in the new Marvel movie. But it’s tense, touching and surprisingly rousing.