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Bookmark this pageThree And Out (2007)
Director: Jonathan Gershfield
Movie review
From Time Out London
Having one passenger fall under his train makes distracted driver Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) look unfortunate, but by the second accident in under a month he starts to appear distinctly careless. Paul is played by the fish-eyed, sad-sack actor Mackenzie Crook, so he already looks miserable, but he cheers up considerably when work colleague, Ash (Rhashan Stone) informs him of the hush-hush ‘three and out’ rule – three deaths in one month and you get paid off. So, impecunious, aspirant writer Paul hatches a plan to scour London for a volunteer suicide and chances upon – as you do – Colm Meaney’s desperate Tommy who is about to jump off Holborn Viaduct…It was only a matter of time before ‘The Office’ star Crook was offered a lead in a Brit-com; but first-time director Jonathan Gershfield has a hard time harnessing his talents. In ‘Three and Out’s’ implausible, over-familiar and poorly written (by Steve Lewis and Tony Owen) early scenes, he offers a low-key presence – somewhere between hapless innocent, frightened rabbit and presumptuous fool. But things start to improve – slightly – as the movie develops into a more orthodox buddy movie and he’s shouldered out of the way by Meaney’s bolshier turn as repentant carouser, Tommy.
There are minor shades of ‘Withnail & I’ – as the mismatched pair head to the Lake District in a vintage Merc to facilitate Tommy’s dying wish to touch base with spikey, abandoned ex, Rosemary (Imelda Staunton) and daughter, Frankie (Gemma Arterton) – but it’s too gauche, too derivative and merely sporadically amusing.
Author: Wally Hammond
Time Out London Issue 1966 April 24-30, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- moreteavicar said...
- Posted on Oct 05 2008 18:25 Don't be put off by the zany poster - much more than a daft bad-taste slapstick comedy. Some good performances esp Imelda S and interesting commentary on how we try to live meaningfully. Liked the Withnail references. + Finally something approaching a realistic portrayal of London on the big screen!
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- Wilox said...
- Posted on May 09 2008 14:31 Ps. Anyone making positive comments about this film must either a) have never been to cinema before and so been wowed by the bright lights, or b) be a friend/relative of one of the actors.
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- Wilox said...
- Posted on May 09 2008 14:29 Absolute fucking garbage from start to finish
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- Brett Johnson said...
- Posted on May 07 2008 23:51 People are weird. I really liked this film. What's the big problem. Best Brit flick in ages apart from Bond
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- Holly Wells said...
- Posted on May 07 2008 23:49 I loved this film. London Underground regularly make me late for work and strike every bank holiday over pay. This is just one more bandwagon to jump on. The guy under the train thing makes up like 1% of the movie! Go and see it. The actors are really good in it. The story is moving!
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- James Wren said...
- Posted on May 07 2008 23:46 People expect too much from Britsh FIlms. Tiny country,not much output, too much critical attention.If we could break a few more eggs then flicks like this would stand a better chance. It's trying too hard to be SUCCESSFUL instead of just trying to be a good movie.It's good in places, great actors but some of it is also piss poor. See it anyway. Most of you went to see the Star Wars Prequels so stop gobbing off about bad films!
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- Fish teeth said...
- Posted on May 05 2008 14:52 FISH TEETH ... UTTER FISH TEETH ... DONT .... WATCH...THIS....MOVIE...FISH TEETH I SAY!!!
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- stewmacher said...
- Posted on May 05 2008 14:47 We walked near the end, couldnt take another second, RUBBISH! save your cash for Indiana jones!!
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- Steve said...
- Posted on May 03 2008 14:24 Is this what British Cinema has come to? Don't waste you money. It's crap.
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- Sane one said...
- Posted on May 01 2008 21:14 I walked out after 30 minutes, its total rubbish.
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- hermannnnnnns mummy said...
- Posted on May 01 2008 07:32 No you cant, its too expensive. Have a packet of spangles instead.
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- hermannnnnnn said...
- Posted on May 01 2008 07:30 Mummy, can we have popcorn please?
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- NIck said...
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Posted on Apr 30 2008 23:28
Well I decided to give this film a chance and go see it,
despite checking some poor reviews here. All I can say is the negative reviews are valid. I l walked out towards the end. I know it's down to personal taste but trust me when I say this film is diabolical. I won't go into detail because I could go on for ever, I can only assume the people who leave the good reviews are the same kind of people who go and by an album like 'crazy frog' etc and reckon it's great music. But go see it and make up your
own mind, Best advice I can give is, if you feel like walking out after half an hour - do it - it doesent get better , so don't waste anymore of your time. I gave it an hour and 15 mins and couldent bare it any longer even though it was near the end - I wasent even curious to know the outcome. - Report as inappropriate
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- TingTong said...
- Posted on Apr 30 2008 11:22 Actually I really enjoyed it - it's a great British comedy. The whole suicide theme is not the main one - it's funny and touching - a real refreshing break from all that over polished Hollywood claptrap. I enjoyed it.
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- dank said...
- Posted on Apr 30 2008 01:27 total cool ya?
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Cast & crew
Director: Jonathan Gershfield
Cast: Colm Meaney, Imelda Staunton, Gemma Arterton, MacKenzie Crook
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: 15
Duration: 106 mins
UK Release: Apr 25 2008
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