Bad Eggs
If ever there was a film I really, really wanted to love, it was Bad Eggs . Writer/director Tony Martin is one of the funniest men in the country, and someone whose vast knowledge of film makes him seem like the true Lord of The Geeks, while his success in everything - from the much loved The Late Show and his Martin/Molloy radio show – is something to be admired. When I heard he had the chance to make his own film I couldn't wait to see what he would come up with.
Through a twist of fate I actually went to a test screening of the film. It wasn't yet complete but yet complete enough that you got a fair idea of what the finished result would be like. I remember laughing a lot, half of the time it was at things that actually were funny, the other times just because Tony Martin was sitting behind me. Overall though, the film was a disappointment.
Today I decided to give it another chance. Maybe I was too harsh, I thought. Maybe the occasion got the better of me. Maybe he made a lot of changes after that screening and it would be like watching a completely different film.
Nup, still disappointing. The film's big problem lies with its tone, as it never reconciles between the intricate weaving of its crime plot – something it seems to take way too seriously - and then playing off for goofy laughs every now and again. The frustrating thing about the plot isn't that it's confusing – which it kind of is - but that there's just so time spent on exposition and explanation. Does anyone remember what the plot was in Beverly Hills Cop or Lethal Weapon ? Of course not. In films like that you just need a so-thin-it's-barely-there McGuffin to kick things in motion and give a backbone for the action and jokes.
Then there's the Judith Lucy factor. Fans of The Late Show were always divided over her inclusion in the group, and I personally fell on the side that wasn't a fan. Just when the film begins to click up a gear Lucy enters and you can really feel things start to stagnate - but the blame can't go to her alone. Molloy seems too stuck in his “Micky”/Crackerjack personality to carry a film as different as this. Funny guy he is, actor he is not. Only Bob Franklin really seems to get it, and shines with almost every line he gets, with some help from Shaun Micallef - who as good as he is, enters the film too late to really make an impact.
As with everything Tony Martin does there's some great ideas and funny shit in Bad Eggs , and while it wasn't the film I wanted it to be, it is only his first film, and I'm sure the real genius is still to come.