‘What would you rather lose, an eye or a bollock?’ This is the great imponderable that opens low-budget British comedy ‘Almost Married’, as two stark naked lads on a paintballing stag do engage in a panicked debate about where they’d least like to be shot. So far, so feature-length episode of ‘Men Behaving Badly’. Writer-director Ben Cookson’s debut is billed as a blokey wedding romcom, and that’s exactly what it is about half of the time. But it also features a tonally uneasy grab-bag of serious issues (including infidelity, prostitution, suicide and HIV), with the result that it often feels like an episode of post-watershed soap spin-off ‘Hollyoaks Later’.
There are, to be fair, some winning one-liners, and ‘Game of Thrones’ alumnus Philip McGinley’s spirited performance in the lead role makes the best of the material. But too many gags are ill-considered and it’s ultimately hard to care whether the engaged couple will make it down the aisle. The film should, however, appeal to readers of Nuts and Zoo, who will find their worldview well and truly validated.