Firstly I'd like to thank the nice folks over at Networkonair (Network Distributing) who own the film & for streaming it free on their site. I occasionally buy DVD's of old TV shows from them & came across this film, totally forgetting that I'd seen when it was originally released. I'm the same age as Emile Charles, I also worked at Heaven in London when we had 'Fruit Machine' on Wednesday's. So whilst I didn't run away from Liverpool being chased by a psycho killer whilst swimming with the dolphins, I really identify with the period & coming of age elements of this happy & sad love story.
Your enjoyment of the film may come from reliving your youth through the early part of the film, it's a lovely 80's time capsule, but the story also skips along, only occasionally dropping it's pace, but picking up again minutes later. All of the performances are solid & entertaining, I remember not liking 'Eddie' at the time, fearing the fem, but now I see a lovely light portrayal of a young gay boy, just being who he wants to be. Michael, Eddie's light-fingered friend (& the obligatory for the time) unrequited love, is well handled by Tony Forsyth, in the is he, isn't he role. The pair have a great chemistry & you root for them until the end.
The story & plot has it's ups & downs, and as the writer was determined to have a tragic ending, we have a hitman, taking out the wonderful Robbie Coltrane early in. That's fine, many a plot is pushed along by such an event, but our hitman just happens to be a psycho karate nutjob hitman in eyeliner, played by the ever underrated Bruce Payne. This stretches the reality of the film at points & in ways that were totally unnecessary & which I feel detracts from the overall intent of the film. A tragic romantic ending could've been achieved in far more realistic ways. The pair, cadging a lift & place to sleep with a famous opera singer, again stretches believability, but it gets the boys in the predicaments that the plot requires & although it goes no where, I guess that's just life sometimes!
Today, a teenage boy swooning over a handsome man in his dreams might almost be common place, then, it was unheard of, no one would do it. Here, Eddie's dreams are wonderfully brought to the screen & heart-stoppingly so with the dreamy Carsten Norgaard. Carsten also does a great job of transforming into a dolphin, in a really rather beautiful underwater love scene, the likes of which you will rarely see in any film, let alone one of this small budget stature. All of the water scenes, real & fantasy are very well done & lift the film to another level.
Special note - in possibly one of its final ever appearances on screen, before it fell into the sea, the majestically dilapidated West Pier is the backdrop for the final scenes, heartbreaking that it wasn't saved! As it crumbles & fades in the background, so does Eddie & the chance of happiness between him & Michael, but he's freed from life's miseries as is the dolphin, rescuing Michael in a last goodbye, or was it Eddie, saving his love before he swims away?!
If you love the 80's, if you love an unconventional romance, if you love a bit of camp & if you love dolphins, you'll pretty much love Fruit Machine.
Your enjoyment of the film may come from reliving your youth through the early part of the film, it's a lovely 80's time capsule, but the story also skips along, only occasionally dropping it's pace, but picking up again minutes later. All of the performances are solid & entertaining, I remember not liking 'Eddie' at the time, fearing the fem, but now I see a lovely light portrayal of a young gay boy, just being who he wants to be. Michael, Eddie's light-fingered friend (& the obligatory for the time) unrequited love, is well handled by Tony Forsyth, in the is he, isn't he role. The pair have a great chemistry & you root for them until the end.
The story & plot has it's ups & downs, and as the writer was determined to have a tragic ending, we have a hitman, taking out the wonderful Robbie Coltrane early in. That's fine, many a plot is pushed along by such an event, but our hitman just happens to be a psycho karate nutjob hitman in eyeliner, played by the ever underrated Bruce Payne. This stretches the reality of the film at points & in ways that were totally unnecessary & which I feel detracts from the overall intent of the film. A tragic romantic ending could've been achieved in far more realistic ways. The pair, cadging a lift & place to sleep with a famous opera singer, again stretches believability, but it gets the boys in the predicaments that the plot requires & although it goes no where, I guess that's just life sometimes!
Today, a teenage boy swooning over a handsome man in his dreams might almost be common place, then, it was unheard of, no one would do it. Here, Eddie's dreams are wonderfully brought to the screen & heart-stoppingly so with the dreamy Carsten Norgaard. Carsten also does a great job of transforming into a dolphin, in a really rather beautiful underwater love scene, the likes of which you will rarely see in any film, let alone one of this small budget stature. All of the water scenes, real & fantasy are very well done & lift the film to another level.
Special note - in possibly one of its final ever appearances on screen, before it fell into the sea, the majestically dilapidated West Pier is the backdrop for the final scenes, heartbreaking that it wasn't saved! As it crumbles & fades in the background, so does Eddie & the chance of happiness between him & Michael, but he's freed from life's miseries as is the dolphin, rescuing Michael in a last goodbye, or was it Eddie, saving his love before he swims away?!
If you love the 80's, if you love an unconventional romance, if you love a bit of camp & if you love dolphins, you'll pretty much love Fruit Machine.