The All Together (2007)

You won't be disappointed!

Pretty Good

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I had no expectations for this, but it definitely holds your attention for its (short) running time, and there are definitely a few laughs along the way. While things do get a bit farcical at times it provides a rewarding experience if you can look past it.Basically Martin Freeman plays a cynical TV producer who lives with a bizarre, French artist called Bob. One day he heads out and leaves Bob to look after the house, and speak to some estate agents who are coming round to price the place up. However a local gangster, along with an American 'connection' need to use the toilet and end up holding them all hostage while one of them gets the runs. No, seriously - that is the plot!

I can imagine that some people might be put off by the film's ironic attitude towards the media and gangster movies. Maybe it takes a spitefully uncommon sense of humour to go along with the teasing and (self-) depreciative mood that at times is exposed. The opening scene already dwells on this attitude, when exactly those things are performed that the lead character, a scriptwriter and would be writer, tells us he would never do in a movie. All the while you will get off comments that either give a deeper "truth" to or foil what you are seeing, and almost every aspect of modern culture is made fun of: TV, modern art (I believe Velibor Topic's character is not French like some reviewer said, but rather ex-Yugoslavian - hence his comment that it would be easy for him to get corpses in his home country, I simply cannot imagine that of France ;)), the close relations between the USA and the UK, religion, Batman, French movies etc. The real highlight of the movie is the wonderful soundtrack, music you are not likely to hear in other movies and I must admit that it incited me to look for at least digital copies.BTW Danny Dyer and Martin Freeman do get a scene together but one of them is no longer able to talk.

Almost from the word go this film is poor and lacking conviction but then again most people would struggle to show commitment to a script as uninspiring as this. The dialogue really does not flow and sometimes as in this case more is less (or should have been). This is also backed-up by odd scenes (e.g. the Cemetry slow-motion walk) that you think might lead somewhere but only seem to waste a few more seconds of your life.The plot is a strange combination of gangster / situation comedy which I am sure seemed a good idea at the time but if ever there was a case for someone needing to be honest with the scriptwriter then here was it.Martin Freeman is okay but then he seems to have one character which always plays so I am beginning to wonder if he was given a script or just filmed and told to react as normal.Finally - humour. This reminds me of the 'Python (I think) quote about Shakespere, of his 'comedies' - If he had meant it to be humorous he would have put a joke in it. Well I didn't see one.Don't waste your time - I did because I was watching it with a friend and kept hoping that it was going to get better.It didn't.

This little film has some terrific dialogue. It's deceptively smart and really proper rather than pretend funny which I find most things i watch. Freeman is excellent as usual as other lots of the other actors who I was less familiar with. Very hectic and pretty short but mainly it's the amount of big laughs that really grabbed me. Read some pretty negative reviews which was odd. Maybe cos a least two of the characters are quite scathing with swipes about some British TV and film. Also much hatred of the cult of celebrity in particular and got flack for this I think. Anyway if you're into crash bang wallop pictures don't bother with this. It's very dialogue-heavy, little 'action' but lots of laughs. I would say its limitations are obvious however and if watching truly low-budget films ain't for you don't bother.