Reviewing The Situation - A Fantastic Fear Of Everything
Bruce Robinson + Simon Pegg + Crispian from Kula Shakur = ?
When it comes to cinematic collaborations, they don't come much more eccentric than top comic actor Simon Pegg starring in a movie written and co-directed by Kula Shaker frontman Crispian Mills. And yet here we are, with the chap partly responsible for Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz busting his comedy chops for the man behind ‘Hey Dude’ and ‘Tattva’.
Loosely adapted from Bruce Robinson's brilliantly funny short story Paranoia In The Laundrette, A Fantastic Fear Of Everything has Pegg playing Jack, an author of children's books who's turned into a nervous wreck when he decides to write a book about serial killers. Fortunately, while Jack is constantly on the verge of a panic attack, his agent has arranged a meeting for him with the BBC. But can a man who worries what people think of his laundry make his way out of his house, let alone make it big?
For all the talk about Mills' involvement, on the face of it, A Fantastic Fear’s rather fun. Besides Pegg - coping manfully with the haircut from hell - the cast includes Clare Higgins, who's been in everything from Hellraiser and Small Faces to The Curse Of Steptoe and Doctor Who, and Paul Freeman, who appeared alongside Pegg in Hot Fuzz and opposite Harrison Ford in Raiders Of The Last Ark. Look out too for The Darjeeling Limited’s Amara Karan plus Kerry Shale, the veteran Canadian actor and the author of the BBC radio drama The Kubrick Test.
It’s thanks to these steady hands that the film remains afloat. Without their presence, it’s possible that the picture’s lesser elements - namely the inexperience of the director Chris Hopewell and writer-director Mills - might have the audience looking for lifeboats.
Savaged by the critics upon opening, A Fantastic Fear is anything but a bomb. And if you’re still unsure about watching a movie directed by a member of Kula Shaker, just remember to ‘Hush’ after you ‘Govinda’ cinema.