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The only
really interesting folks are London Betty, the charming British
heroine (played by the delectable Nicole Lewis) who investigates the
mayor and his carnival scam, and there’s character Sgt. Stone played
with great comedic skill by Phil Hall who pulls the weight in pure
random sight gags. Seeing a red bra over a hairy chest is funny, I
don’t care what anyone says. I’ll say this: It has its high points
that keep it consistently entertaining with our characters engaging
in gags that aroused a laugh here and there. The 20 dollar an hour
lingerie model scenes were funny, and often times I couldn’t believe
how much trouble that damn bunny got in to. Not to mention Billy
returning the bunny to the wrong woman and demanding she give him
twenty bucks also inspired a chuckle.
This is the same dude who did “Bikini Bloodbath”? While I’m always
up for comedies that dare to be anything but the same old indie
comedy crap, Thomas Edward Seymour can never really decide what kind
of movie he’s making. At times he strives for Troma gross out
comedy, then he tries for inexplicable touching sub-plots and then
he’ll go for the bargain basement slapstick that was a lot funnier
in his previous film. “London Betty” isn’t the worst movie I’ve ever
seen, but I was definitely counting the minutes and waiting for it
to end.
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Director Seymour can never seem
to provide logic for his characters personalities, or the
humor. Granted, I don’t expect deep character study from the
director behind “Bikini Bloodbath,” but there seems to be no
reason behind these characters beyond simply filling up the
screen. Why does friend Volgo like prostitute Jess? Because
it gives him something to do. Why does Billy post random
want ads on the town bulletin boards, steal stuff from other
people, and call women “whores”? |
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Because he’s just erratic like that.
Granted, Seymour is very funny, but there’s never really too much sense
in anything he does.
How could Jess be such a successful prostitute in a small
town with no people on the streets? And would there be such a media
firestorm over a corrupt mayor in such a small town? The acting is
apropos for the unusual comedy that splashes the screen, but the movie
is so random I was more confused than entertained. “Bikini Bloodbath”
was fun, and watching a dude stick a twinkie up his bum is unusual, but
that brand of humor won’t always translate well on every genre. Seymour
would do well to remember that.
There are definite upsides to Seymour's comedy with good performances
from the cast and some laugh out loud scenes, but beyond them, "London
Betty" has a hard time deciding on a tone, story, and genre, thus it's
definitely not the best Seymour has ever offered up.
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