Anuvahood Movie Review

Essentially a scruffy British stoner comedy, this colourful romp certainly manages to create a lively atmosphere. But the characters' non-stop chatter, much of which is shouted at top volume, wears us out within the first five minutes.

Kenneth (Deacon) has changed his name to K to seem more street-smart on his rough council estate. His parents (Robson and Benson) think he needs to take more responsibility in the family, so he decides to help with their money problems. Although quitting his job isn't the smartest move. Then he hatches a plan to sell drugs to the neighbourhood with the help of his dopey pals (Zonzolo, Oyeniran and Vu) and a visiting foreign student (Barbieri), but this puts him on a collision course with the estate's self-proclaimed kingpin Tyrone (Campbell).

The title riffs on Noel Clarke's Kidulthood/Adulthood, both of which costarred Deacon, and there's some genuine charm here, as the cast and crew manage to make the annoying characters likeable. Even though everyone is a bundle of misplaced bravado, their embarrassing attempts to control events are disarmingly engaging. So it's extremely frustrating that the script strains our patience with paper-thin characterisations and badly contrived plot points (including that old chestnut: the hidden gun).

The actors go for broke with performances that are loud and extremely physical.

How they sustained such high levels of energy throughout the shoot is anyone's guess, but it's pretty exhausting for us just to watch the constant slapstick and verbal mayhem. The best scenes are actually the ones that are more character-based, such as K's interaction with his mum and dad, the only characters who have any shading at all. Everyone else is a corny pastiche.

And there's also the problem that the film tries to tack on a weak message about being yourself, since it's continually undermined by all of the on-screen mugging. The central storyline is so simplistic that it almost boggles the mind, and it's punctuated by strained comical set pieces that centre on intense humiliation. Frankly, the only people who will laugh at these things are the bullies and thugs themselves. Which is probably who this film was made for.