Out on a Limb

Felix Limb (Henry Goodman) is a successful Keith Floyd-style TV chef with a penchant for vino. But today’s the day when everything turns bad. First, his bosses pull the plug on his show; then his newspaper editor follows suit and drops his column; and now his wife suspects he’s having an affair with his pretty production assistant – which he is. Can it get much worse? Well, yes: during a dinner for some of his closest acquaintances, two armed raiders burst into the house and hold the diners hostage. While the police and the press gather outside, quick-thinking Felix realises he can manipulate this increasingly frantic media situation to his (and everyone else’s) advantage.Like many a low-key Brit flick, Robert Heath’s competent role-reversal comedy is probably better suited to the small screen. Nevertheless, despite the occasional off-the-rails excursion, it’s mostly snappily written (addressing as it does the current trend for media manipulation), adequately performed (especially by Goodman as the increasingly unhinged chef) and peppered with some very funny moments. Comes with an amusing postscript too.