The Flirting Club

UK 2010
produced by
James Bedford, Alexander Jovy
directed by James Bedford, Alexander Jovy
starring Richard Di Gregorio, Melanie Denholme, Daniel Morrisey, Simon Cummins, Justine Powell, Terry Alderton, Johnny Spurling, Gina Murray, Lisa Marrs, Mary-Jane Amor, Des Brittain, Sue Parker-Nutley, Emily Thorling, Tanya Andrews, Sophia Cahill, Graig Bellamy, Gloria Fitch, Robin Gale, Regan Hiley, Philip Lassman, Imran Mirza, Carlene Moreno, Ben Neale, Jasmine Salley, Caroline Tomlinson
written by James Bedford, Alexander Jovy, Steven Skinner, music by Guy Farley

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Jamie's (Richard Di Gregorio) 30th birthday is rapidly approaching, but at his heart, he's still a teenager: He lives with his parents (Des Brittain, Sue Parker-Nutley), has problems chatting up girls, has thus no sex life to speak of but freak erections, and he has a huge crush on Lydia (Justine Powell), a girl from the office he works at who doesn't even seem to notice him. But now Jamie's parents want to move to Australia, and they'll only pay him his own apartment if he has a girlfriend before they're gone or marries his, er, rotund next-door neighbour (Emily Thorling).

But Jamie thinks he has a solution for all his problems: The Flirting Club, a sort of weekly training course where social misfits and other weirdos learn to, well, talk to the other sex. Now the lessons Jamie learns in the Flirting Club are rather bizarre and don't really help him get along with the fair sex ... but gradually, he grows more and more interested in one of the other clubmembers, lovely Mel (Melanie Denholme), and while she loathes him first, she soon softens up to him as well.

As a sort of final exam, the whole Flirting Club is driven to London where the members have to apply what they have learned ... and during a karaoke session, the sparks really fly between Jamie and Mel - but disaster is looming, as Jamie's best friend Billy (Daniel Morrisey) has since convinced Jamie's (former) (wet) dreamwoman Lydia to give him a chance ... so will Jamie do the right thing? And which is the right thing? And will he have to marry his rotund neighbour after all?

The Flirting Club is a rather likeable little comedy - that tries to cover too many bases all at once: Its humour goes from sophisticated to puerile all too often, its raunchy slapstick doesn't mix too well with its more emotional core, the story never seems to find its proper center, the film seems to be utterly undecided whether it wants to be an ensemble piece or not - and as for the leads: Richard Di Gregorio's approach to his role is a bit too puerile to identify with (though that might be due to the script rather than his abilities), and while Melanie Denholme gives a very fine performances, she's given way too few opportunities (at best two) to really shine.

That all said, there are still some really funny scenes in the movie, and it might work just fine as a party film - it just seems to never live up to what it could have been ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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