The Big Tease (1999)

As Good As It Gets

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I love this movie so much. It has such a funny plot line and the writing is so good (Craig Ferguson, the star, wrote it). This is one of the best faux documentary movies I've ever seen. I think it also has a sweet little story about fulfilling your dreams and I love the ending. I'm also a big fan of Craig Ferguson's other work, like Saving Grace. If you liked this, I would reccomend that as well.

Trying to do for hairdressing what 'Strictly Ballroom' did for ballroom dancing, 'The Big Tease' follows Glaswegian hairdresser Crawford MacKenzie as he tries to get himself into the cut throat competition for the coveted 'Platinum Scissors' - a contest he's been invited to watch, but not to take part in. But it is so obvious that he'll walk away with the prize that there isn't any kind of feelgood factor about it.Taking the well worn fish-out-of-water scenario, 'The Big Tease' is far too slight to really make much of an impression. The whole Hollywood wannabe lifestyle is too easy a target for this type of comedy, and although some there is some mileage to be had from the situations, it all feels very stale. Actually, the film itself shows signs of suffering from that same wannabe mentality that it tries to lampoon. There are various 'celebrity' cameos, but they only serve as a reminder of how small scale the movie is. And when the expected Sean Connery cameo doesn't materialise it is an indication of the film's underachievement. An overlong sitcom pilot episode.�

If you stick with it this is a very funny film. Don't be put off by the plot - a misguided Scotsman attempts to crash a mythical hairdressing Olympics. It's a very human comedy about identity and self-worth. Filmed in a documentary style, which takes a few scenes to get used to, it really only hits its stride when the hero Crawford lands in the US. From there it works very well, tilting at various American showbiz windmills. I saw one of the co-stars, Mary McCormack, recently in "High Heels and Lowlifes", and surfing her name in the database reminded me of this little gem. If it's in your local video store, and you enjoyed Spinal Tap or Local Hero, you should try it.

This was a great movie - we picked it off the shelf, never having heard of it before, and loved it! Reminiscent of "This Is Spinal Tap" and "Waiting for Guffman". Complete with cameos from Drew Carey and David Hasselhoff, this film is great fun! You won't be disappointed.