Kevin And Perry Go Large (DVD)

...and directed by Ed Bye Kevin & Perry Go Large is a light-hearted British comedy that was released back in April 2000. This is a review of the film only.


==Plot==


Kevin Patterson (Harry Enfield) and his best friend Perry (Kathy Burke) are two teenagers going through the ‘awkward’ phase of puberty. Being budding DJs , as well as desperate to experience the fairer sex, the friends decide that a holiday is ...
...to improve, they don’t want Kevin to go full stop. This does not stop Kevin and Perry though and despite being ridiculed by their peers (for a number of different reasons). This makes them try even harder to think of a way to get to their sunny paradise. Whilst pondering their next move an unexpected series of events sees Kevin (through his hormones and bodily functions) doing a good deed for his local neighbourhood. This selfless act is praised ... more

Written by Harry Enfield and Dave Cummings, and directed by Ed Bye Kevin & Perry Go Large is a light-hearted British comedy that was released back in April 2000. This is a review of the film only.

Plot

Kevin Patterson (Harry Enfield) and his best friend Perry (Kathy Burke) are two teenagers going through the ‘awkward’ phase of puberty. Being budding DJs , as well as desperate to experience the fairer sex, the friends decide that a holiday is needed, and where better to get sun, sea and (hopefully) sex as well as satisfying a hunger for dance music than the island of Ibiza.

Mr and Mrs Patterson (James Fleet and Louisa Rix respectively) are not keen on letting the boys go by themselves, and since Kevin’s grades are so poor and he is showing no willingness to improve, they don’t want Kevin to go full stop. This does not stop Kevin and Perry though and despite being ridiculed by their peers (for a number of different reasons). This makes them try even harder to think of a way to get to their sunny paradise. Whilst pondering their next move an unexpected series of events sees Kevin (through his hormones and bodily functions) doing a good deed for his local neighbourhood. This selfless act is praised by the town’s residents and as a treat Kevin’s parents decide to take Perry and himself to Ibiza.

Being unknowns in Ibiza Kevin and Perry are expecting to take the island, and its female population, by storm and make a name for themselves with the ultimate goal being to experience the fairer sex at last. Unfortunately for Kevin and Perry, their reputation appears to have followed them over, and despite gallant efforts their plans do not look like they are going to be achieved. It is then that Kevin and Perry bump in to Eyeball Paul (Rhys Ifans), a world famous DJ, who exploits the pair with the promise of playing one of their mixes in one of the most famous, and largest, clubs in Ibiza – Amnesia.

Will Kevin and Perry ever manage to shake off their loser reputations and become ‘men’? Will the clubbers of Ibiza, complete with their glow sticks and ‘happy hardcore’ t-shirts ever get to hear Kevin and Perry’s white label dance mix? What happens to Eyeball Paul? What did the island of Ibiza do to Mrs Patterson to make her express herself so vocally?

Other characters

Other main characters include:

• 1 Candice (Laura Fraser) – Love interest
• 2 Gemma (Tabitha Wady) – Love interest
• 3 Club bouncer (Paul Whitehouse)
• 4 Eye Ball Paul’s girlfriend number 1 (Jo Burton)
• 5 Eye Ball Paul’s girlfriend number 2 (Kerry Burton)
• 6 Big Baz (Steven O’Donell) - Chauffer

The supporting cast are a group of unknowns, well they are to me, and whilst these do a good job and give believable performances (in the context of the overall movie) none of them give memorable or fantastic performances. The main cast clearly steal the limelight in this movie, as they should, and there are no threats from the supporting cast.

My opinion

Harry Enfield and Chums (Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke) was all the rage during my first three years at high school and it was the topic of conversation for all of Monday (It was shown on a Sunday night), all of Tuesday and most of Wednesday. Even though Kevin and Perry had a few good one-liners, and I did like their sketches, I must admit that my favourite had to be the “old Gits” and “Wayne and Waynetta Slob” since these had the best one-liners. In addition these one-liners could actually be repeated in everyday life (unlike many others from comedy sketches these days – the language is just too blue).

Kevin’s “I ‘ate you” and “I am not your slave” catchphrases are nowhere near as good, or comical, as the slobs’ “I am smokin’ a fag” and various fast food sayings, but I think that parents and teenagers can relate more to Kevin, despite the increase in “chavs and Shazzas” (I am allowed to put this?) in recent years.

When I first heard Harry Enfield was going to produce a feature length Kevin and Perry sketch I was sceptical since how can you turn a witty 7 minute sketch in to a full feature length movie that would be any good and do the sketch justice? Despite my reservations, I just had to see it on the big screen, and I must state that I was very impressed. The movie turned out to be great entertainment and is one I still enjoy watching even to this day.

I would not describe this movie as a laugh out loud comedy even though there are a couple of very funny scenes (my personal favourites include the “tent poles” scene at the beginning, the cringe worthy scene where Kevin and Perry can hear Kevin’s parents up to no good and the “floater” scene at the beach, for those of you that are familiar with the movie). The humour is your typical British slap-stick comedy with a bit of innuendo but not so much to be offensive, providing you don’t find pant bulges offensive that is. The producers rely on these ‘light’ sexual references to provide the comedy, and not foul and abusive language as appears to be the case in many modern movies. Whilst I am not averse to a bit of bad language , after all it is very emotive, I do think that many movies have just a bit too much. That said, there is some foul language with most of it coming out of the mouth of DJ Eyeball Paul.

This movie is not action packed or fast paced, therefore it is possible to kick back, put your feet up and chill out without having to concentrate too much or concentrate hard to make sure you are still following the plot. This movie is such that it is possible for the viewers to have the all important comfort breaks without needing to pause the film for fear of missing anything. In my opinion, this is the beauty of this movie as it provides laid-back entertainment. Even though this movie is not an action packed thriller it does progress at a nice rate to ensure that the viewers will not get bored waiting for something to happen.

I think the story line is weak, after all it is pretty much a modern day “Carry on Abroad” but I do find it very entertaining with the scenes moving from quite fluidly from one to the next throughout most of the movie. I say most, because there are some ‘filler’ scenes, you know ones that appear pointless and don’t really link up, resulting in a bit of disjointedness during parts of the movie, but these are minimal and the movie cannot be marked down for this, especially since the story soon gains momentum. Once again, I think the producers have done a sterling job as I am guessing that producing a one and a half hour comedy sketch is quite a challenge but the story writers have lived up to this.

Compared to both modern movies and movies at that time the acting is not fantastic. There are no Oscar winning performances, there are no “wow” moments nor are there are no deep and meaningful emotional scenes but then given the genre of this movie, and the fact that it is based on a comedy sketch it would be naive to think there would be. All characters in the original sketch (including Kevin, Perry and Kevin’s parents) act in exactly the same way in the movie as they do in the sketch. The producers have not attempted to change their mannerisms, their dress sense, their stage presence or anything else about them and I think this is the reason why this movie works. The producers have made one long comedy sketch, without being too clever, and the actors do a fantastic job throughout.

The onscreen relationship between Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke is great in the sketches but fantastic in this. Kevin & Perry’s friendship is put to the test in this movie and it is an endearing side story that shows they are not shallow, selfish teenagers as portrayed in the seven minute sketches.

The character Kevin looks far too old compared to other characters in this movie, but then I guess Harry Enfield was actually getting on a bit when this movie was made. Whilst a younger Kevin would have ‘fitted’ in better, I don’t think this would not have worked as Kevin was developed by Harry Enfield and there is only one person who could play the part of Kevin. Kevin is meant to be the ‘Batman’ of the duo, however I find Perry far more entertaining. The way he sucks up to Kevin’s parents with the “Yes Mrs Patterson, No Mrs Patterson” and then attempts to be ‘street’ (By turning his jacket back to front for example) but fails miserably as he is just too innocent and geeky, and has no idea, is just great.

The thing I find worrying is that Kathy Burke makes such a good teenage boy. The way she walks, the way she talks, her facial expressions and her mannerisms are just spot on and I think that she was perfectly cast for the role. No other actor could play the role of Perry so well, in my opinion.

Whilst there are loads of other characters in this movie, most of them play very small roles and are purely there to support the main characters. Most of the characters do not even have a speaking part. Of those that have larger roles, such as Candy, etc. their performances aren’t fantastic, although they do a good job in supporting the main cast.

If you are a fan of the classic dance and trance music genre of the early nineties then you are going to love the soundtrack of this album since it is fantastic and includes loads of Ibiza classics from a whole host of famous DJs, and the tunes are played at appropriate times throughout the movie.

Conclusion

Personally, I think that Kevin & Perry is an acquired taste and if you liked the short sketches then you are definitely going to like the feature length movie. Those youngsters out there who were not fortunate enough to see Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke and Chums during their heyday may not like this since humour has definitely changed over the years, and I think the good old British slap stick has died a bit of a death when it comes to the younger generation.

I find this is a movie that is enjoyable at any time and I don’t have to be in a specific mood to watch it. For example, there are times when I just want to kill a few hours on a Sunday afternoon watching something that doesn’t require much thought and this is the ideal movie. There are times when I want a light-hearted comedy to watch whilst curled up on the sofa with the other half and this is the ideal movie. There are times when I want to watch something that contains no violence, no high-octane car chases, no graphic sex scenes and little foul language and this is the ideal movie. Kevin & Perry Go Large is just a great all round film, and whilst it will never be a classic it is one worthy of any DVD collection.

Other

Run time – 82 minutes
Certificate – 15
Nominated for 1 award

(Originally posted on Dooyoo under the name of Yackers1)

 

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