Gareth Carrivick Movies
- 2009
After cutting his teeth on a number of television projects for the BBC, director Gareth Carrivick makes his feature debut with this off-beat sci-fi comedy. A normal trip to the pub turns into anything but for a trio of mild-mannered blokes (Chris O'Dowd, Marc Wootan and Dean Lennox Kelly) when a woman from the future (Scary Movie's Anna Faris) shows up and plunges them into a predicament involving space and time. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Chris O'Dowd, (more)
- 2002
This compendium of material from the BBC sketch comedy program French & Saunders pokes fun at everything from Baywatch and the Batman franchise to Björk and Ingmar Bergman, stopping along the way to mock British tennis players and postcolonial biddies. Most of the material dates from the early to mid-'90s; all of it features future Absolutely Fabulous writer/actress Jennifer Saunders and Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French, who parody pop culture figures (Liam Neeson and Mel Gibson in a faux Braveheart/Rob Roy crossover) and inhabit their usual assortment of original characters. Guest players include supermodel Kate Moss and singer/actress/celebrity wife Patsy Kensit. The title refers to the duo's parody of Madonna's Truth or Dare, which, bowing to that film's British title, is called "In Bed With French & Saunders." Other French & Saunders collections include French & Saunders: At the Movies, French & Saunders: Gentlemen Prefer, and French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, (more)
- 2001
One of several British derivations of the popular American sitcom Friends, Two Pints of Lager (And a Packet of Crisps) was set in the Northern town of Runcorn. The main characters were a group of convivial chums, all in their late teens and early twenties, mostly played by newcomers. Judging by the curiously cloistered nature of the dialogue, the scripts were evidently based on "inside" jokes that had amused the cast during rehearsal. The first six episodes of Two Pints of Lager (And a Packet of Crisps) were seen on BBC2 from February 26 to April 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, the team responsible for the raunchy and irreverent British sketch comedy series Fist of Fun, were the men in charge of this BBC weekender, telecast on Sundays at 12:15 PM. Despite this benign time slot, This Morning With Richard Not Judy trafficked heavily in explicit, single-entendre humor as it spoofed the "daily chat show" genre in general and the popular British daily series Richard and Judy in particular. While most of the series was apparently ad-libbed on the spot, a few prerecorded, carefully scripted sketches were included. One such sketch had to be scrapped at the last moment when the celebrity it was lampooning unexpectedly died. Also known as Lee and Herring in This Morning With Richard Not Judy, the series first aired on February 15, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This collection of skits from the fourth series of French & Saunders lives up to its title. Although the comedic duo takes aim at British culture, BBC TV, pop stars, and the Middle Ages, most of the material focuses on Hollywood parody. Dawn French takes on a pair of box-office villains as she pokes fun at Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs and Kathy Bates in Misery; partner Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, essays the Jodie Foster and James Caan roles, respectively. French experiences the familiar progression from face-hugger to stomach-exploder in a send-up of Aliens that also features Kathy Burke standing in for Jenette Goldstein as Pvt. Vasquez. Thelma and Louise also gets the patented F&S treatment. Other sketches include faux music videos for the Mamas and the Papas, Guns N' Roses, and Shakespear's Sister; "Lucky Bitches," a parody of celebrity sisters Joan and Jackie Collins; and an elaborate re-creation of the historical soap House of Eliott, in which the show's original stars, Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard, appear. The DVD edition of French & Saunders: At the Movies also includes the duo's 1999 Christmas special French & Saunders: The Phantom Millennium, an elaborate parody of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, (more)
