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Bookmark this pageBigga Than Ben (2008)
Director: Suzie Halewood
Movie review
From Time Out London
This streetsmart, non-PC and very funny immigrants-in-London comedy makes ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ look like a government advisory documentary. Subtitled ‘The Russian’s Guide to Ripping Off London’, it stars Ben Barnes – unrecognisable from ‘Narnia’ – as Cobakka and Andrei Chadov as Spiker, the odd couple of immoral, 25-year-old, draft-dodging Muscovites who come to ‘foggy Albion’ to stash some cash and get the hell out. Dead-end ‘snide’ jobs, urine-ridden flats, herbal and narcotic analgesics and betraying fellow Russians contrive, however, to turn exploitation into purgatory.The performances are spiky, the use of varied locations is fresh and the dialogue – ‘How could I ever imagine that I, a Moscow hooligan and Nazi would become a negro lover?’ – is warmingly non-exemplary. It’s only the over-frenetic MTV visuals and the unsuccessful final push for pathos and the moral highground that spoil the show.
Author: Wally Hammond
Time Out London Issue 1990: Oct 7 - 15, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- JD said...
- Posted on Nov 02 2008 20:21 when is it out on dvd?
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- JD said...
- Posted on Nov 02 2008 20:21 when is it out on dvd?
- Report as inappropriate
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- Kooki said...
- Posted on Oct 14 2008 13:28 is it coming toOz...?
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- coateski said...
- Posted on Oct 12 2008 21:24 What a rocking film, very funny, right up my street big thumbs up
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- gretchen said...
- Posted on Oct 12 2008 19:59 Why isn't this movie in more cinemas? It has to be seen! Ben Barnes is sex on a stick and I wouldn't mind giving the Russian one. Sequel pleeease....XXX
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- Moyo said...
- Posted on Oct 12 2008 19:39 A wry and gritty take on London life that is bound to become a cult classic.
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- Mina said...
- Posted on Oct 11 2008 22:56 Fantastically funny and edgy. Recommended to anyone who is going to immigrate to London.....
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- rosewaterandsunshine said...
- Posted on Oct 11 2008 12:23 Amazing. A must see.
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- hardin said...
- Posted on Oct 11 2008 10:32 Hilarious! How did they get away with it?!! No wonder the po-faced Guardian was offended!
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- Masyanya said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 21:00 Wanna watch it!!! I read their book-diary, so funny! Especially within our first months in England :D
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- Masyanya said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 20:59 Wanna watch it!!! I read they book-diary, so funny! Especially within our first months in England :D
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Suzie Halewood
Cast: Ben Barnes, Andrei Chadov, Ovidiu Matesan
Rated: 15
Duration: 110 mins
UK Release: Oct 10 2008
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