ScreenWize

The British have a long and fine tradition of comedy. This film will not be counted amongst it. The (mostly) true story follows down on their luck opportunists William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis) who try a bit of this and a bit of that to make ends meet in early 1800s Edinburgh. When Hare’s wife (Jessica Hynes), who runs a boarding house, asks them to dispose of the body of a tenant who has passed away in the night, the boys stumble on a lucrative scam.

As Edinburgh is the most progressive city, at the time, for medicine, students come from far and wide to learn at the feet of the city’s medical greats. Dr Knox (Tom Wilkinson) and his medical academy needs fresh cadavers daily for his anatomy class, and at 5 pounds a stiff, Burke and Hare begin helping people to shuffle off the mortal coil keep up with the demand.

Freshly flush with cash, Burke finds himself catching the eye of actress Ginny (Isla Fisher) and agrees to put his notorious earnings into her all-female production of Hamlet. There is so much to want to like about this film, most especially the production design and costuming. Lush, artful, with a fine attention to detail. The cast is name after name, with support from the likes of Tim Curry, Bill Bailey, Christopher Lee, Ronnie Corbett and even the elegant Jenny Agutter.

Not all of this fine work, not any of these big names, can do a thing to save this turkey, which is just one pair of breasts and an ‘ooh eer vicker!’ away from a Carry On film. In fact, the supporting cast are probably the most destructive force. Someone forgot to tell Ronnie Corbett that he wasn’t in a pantomime, and he isn’t the only one mugging for the camera. What a pity for the lead cast. Simon Pegg certainly tries his hardest, but working alongside the expressive and subtle Andy Serkis shows how limited the comic actor’s range is. Isla Fisher is endearing in a role of some pointlessness.

Director John Landis has been funny before (The Blues Brothers, Animal House, Trading Places) so all I can guess is that Americans still don’t understand the British accent and so he was fooled into thinking that was all a barrel of laughs. It isn’t. Don’t.

CK

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon