I know I said Champagne Problems (Blog 298) would hopefully be my only Christmas movie, which turned out to potentially 'not' be a Chrsitmas movie but fear not, Sky TV's '
Tinsel Town' (which is actually a fantastic play on works for this film) definately IS a Christmas Movie - and one that boasts a pretty incredible cast.
Kiefer Sutherland heads up a very random collection of stars in this story that see's an expiring Hollywood Action Superstar, struggling to remain relevant in his version of Tinsel Town, get hoodwinked by his Agent (Katherine Ryan) into what he is led to believe is 'Theatre in England', but as you can probably work out, turns out to be a Panto stint as Cinderella's 'Buttons' in a very low budget rural production set in the fictional village of Stoneford.
Ego's obviously kick-in early doors with reluctance and annoyance to participate from our lead Bradey Mack (Sutherland) but persuaded over the course of the first half of the movie by Dance Instructor Jill (Rebel Wilson), aged ex-panto Dame and pure thespian Albert (Derek Jacobi) and his estranged daughter, plus the rest of the Panto ensemble, starts to understand the magic of Christmas, Panto and the joy it brings.
The plot is understandably predictable with Mack very quickly signing onto the situation he finds himself in, learning to poke fun at himself and managing to sort out his personal life at the same time which is quite an impressive turnaround from the stuck-up egotistical A-lister he started out being in the space of just 94 minutes.
What made this movie a winner for me was the cast. I feel all the main players need a mention. Kiefer and Rebel head up the cast pretty well, a little wooden in places but very watchable. Brit comedians Jason Manford & Asim Chaudhry work perfectly together as the Panto Dame 'Ugly Sisters' with all the inuendos and double entendres you'd expect (and, if the TV work runds dry guys, you could easily consider this as a genuine annual option for you both!). Other notables in the Panto line up comprise of Meera Syal, Lucien Laviscount, Savannah Lee Smith and a host of others, each having their own little side stories.
Danny Dyer rocks up as Jill's ex-love interst in what is really the only 'bad-guy' role but his nature is quickly softened and Derek Jacobi puts on a brilliant performance as the aforementioned ex-Dame and local village 'Mr Nice Guy'. The stand out for me was Nigel (Mawan Rizwaan) who dips in and out of most scenes as a 'jack of all trades', from Chauffer to Barman & Stall Holder to Panto cast member for me, was very enjoyable to watch.
Yes, there are some points where you wouldn't be a-miss for thinking you were watching a Taskmaster Christmas Reunion show but, there are many laugh out loud moments throughout and you do get a real feeling of warmth in the plots and sub-plots scattered throughout the movie.
We all know a good Chrstmas movie can be around for a lifetime, the same as Pop Stars releasing Christmas albums - get one thats sticks, and you're forever a part of Christmas (plus regular ker-ching!) which is probably why so many stars sign up for movies like this, just take Love Actually! That cast is forever engrainded in our Christmases for many decades to come.
I can't honestly say if Tinsel Town will hold the same longevitiy as that - but grab the kids, some popcorn, put the fire on and kick back for what is actually a pretty decent little offering this festive season.
(Images used in blog are sourced from IMDB, Sky Group, The Independent & Radio Times)
