Simon Bell Movies
Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an actor who spends his nights on-stage in London's West End as a comedic punching bag for obnoxiously self-centered comedian Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson). He gets hit in the head with hammers, he trips, and he stands by dumbly as Anderson gets all the laughs. His home life is little different. His roommate, Carmen (Geraldine James), is a nymphomaniac, so he's always surprised by naked men parading through the kitchen in the morning. A chance meeting with lovely nurse Kate Lemon (Emma Thompson) and a tryout for the lead in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber-ish musical based on The Elephant Man (called, not surprisingly, "Elephant!") jolt Dexter from his torpor. Not that it makes him much less of a loser, which is the quality the show's producers are looking for. "You're a victim," they tell him. His attempts to seduce Kate are equally jarring. She asks him if he is a big believer in having sex on the first date. "Why, no," he tells her, trying to impress her with his sensitivity. Too bad, she replies -- she doesn't believe in getting serious with someone if they're sexually incompatible. Romance and showbiz go on, with the show a hit, though Dexter's romance hits a temporary snag: his backstage romance with a co-star (Kim Thomson) gets found out. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, (more)
- 1983
- R
One-dimensional characters tend to fall flat, and that seems to be the case in this low-budget parody of a James Bond spy-thriller that has stretched the bravado of the spy genre beyond its elastic limits. The story involves a British agent, Charles Bind (Gareth Hunt) sent on a mission to find Lord Dangerfield (Noel Johnson) and along the way eliminate the evil Lucifer Orchid (Gary Hope). Lucifer is using plastic surgery to create doubles of the U.S. vice-president, agent Bind, and others in order to install the doubles in power and take over the world. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gareth Hunt, Nick Tate, (more)
- 1976
Charles Dickens' life sounds like a story that could have come from one of his novels -- his father was imprisoned when Charles was a child, forcing him to find work in a factory to support himself and his family, and it was only after many years of struggle that he began to earn his living as a reporter. In time, Dickens began writing comic short stories, and eventually he became one of the most popular and acclaimed novelists in the world. Dickens of London is a miniseries produced for British television which recounts the remarkable story of Dickens's life and career. Roy Dotrice stars as Charles Dickens, Gene Foad plays Dickens as a young man, and Simon Bell portrays Dickens as a child. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roy Dotrice
