I didn't have hopes for this at all . Lee Evans is kind of like Jerry Lee Lewis cross bred with Norman Wisdom while Kathy Burke is a good actress but is type cast in roles as council estate scum so a film where they both appear as two down and out losers didn't strike me as a great film
The opening scene opens with Mr Martin looking up at the sun telling his son that this time tomorrow they'll be going on a foreign holiday , the back drop disappears and you realise the characters are standing at a busy motorway junction . It's a clichéd scene but an amusing one . They go home and have a barbecue - By setting a couple of tyres on fire . Again this is very amusing but then everything starts to fall apart as Evans goes OTT and waves a gun around . There's many scenes like this where Evans and Burke and the supporting cast give either very humorous or very moving performances only to ruin it by suddenly spouting expletives , screaming or gurning . One moment you're about to enjoy this film then the next you're holding the remote wondering if it might be a good idea to see what's on the other side
Several people have commentated on the way THE MARTINS changes mood not only between scenes but during scenes too and it's impossible not to notice this . Yeah it's a comedy but what else is it trying to be ? Is it a bizarre romance ? A social drama ? certainly Evans and Burke do their best with the shaky material but writer/director Tony Grounds should have developed his idea a bit more before he shot the movie which is an ironic thing to say considering the number of scenes featuring a gun
The opening scene opens with Mr Martin looking up at the sun telling his son that this time tomorrow they'll be going on a foreign holiday , the back drop disappears and you realise the characters are standing at a busy motorway junction . It's a clichéd scene but an amusing one . They go home and have a barbecue - By setting a couple of tyres on fire . Again this is very amusing but then everything starts to fall apart as Evans goes OTT and waves a gun around . There's many scenes like this where Evans and Burke and the supporting cast give either very humorous or very moving performances only to ruin it by suddenly spouting expletives , screaming or gurning . One moment you're about to enjoy this film then the next you're holding the remote wondering if it might be a good idea to see what's on the other side
Several people have commentated on the way THE MARTINS changes mood not only between scenes but during scenes too and it's impossible not to notice this . Yeah it's a comedy but what else is it trying to be ? Is it a bizarre romance ? A social drama ? certainly Evans and Burke do their best with the shaky material but writer/director Tony Grounds should have developed his idea a bit more before he shot the movie which is an ironic thing to say considering the number of scenes featuring a gun