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Reviews Want Empire film reviews on your iPhone?
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
5 Stars Classic
4 Stars Excellent
3 Stars Good
2 Stars Fair
1 Star Tragic

POSTER ART
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FILM DETAILS
Certificate
TBC
Cast
Carmen Electra
Tom Riley
Tom Burke
Mackenzie Crook.
Directors
Stephen Surjik.
Screenwriters
Peter Hewitt
Phil Hughes
Jamie Minoprio
Jonathan Stern.
Running Time
TBC minutes


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I Want Candy (TBC)

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I Want Candy
Plot
Desperate to make a name for themselves, two film students (Riley, Burke) attempt to make a sex flick with porn star Candy Fiveways (Electra). Obstacles: suspicious parents, a lack of cash and their seedy financiers.

Review

Nobody does the comedy of embarrassment as well as the Brits, and the plot of this Ealing Studios effort ensures painful laughs at every turn. The heroes are a pair of ambitious students (Toms Riley and Burke) who set out to make their mark in movies by creating the world’s greatest porno. It doesn’t help that they live in the genteel Surrey suburbs, or that they have to cast and film their skinflick opus under the noses of their teacher and parents. Many of the funniest moments come from the clash between erotic epic and dull reality, like the decrepit old gent in a wheelchair who keeps rolling into shot and waving.
 
It’s almost stubbornly predictable, especially for anyone who saw last year’s The Moguls, a lame US comedy with a similar plot. But the familiar story beats can be excused, since it’s loaded with inventive scenarios that crank the cringe factor off the chart. One excruciating scene sees one of our heroes trapped in his parents’ en suite bathroom while his progenitors embark on a marathon kinky-sex session next door — as if that wasn’t enough, director Stephen Surjik (Wayne’s World 2) throws in a nearly naked Pole who needs a number two.
 
The effective supporting cast is filled with familiar TV faces: Jimmy Carr, Felicity ‘Lynn from Alan Partridge’ Montagu and Mackenzie Crook, who’s terrific as a pretentious, nastily goateed film professor. Crook’s character pretty much embodies the movie — a flimsy cliché that still somehow manages to be fresh and funny. While a few moments fall flat (ping-pong ball-shooting Oriental ladies stopped being side-splitting in 1804), there are also lots of smart gags, like a hostile phone conversation that ends in both parties adopting kissy sweet-talk to fool people on their end of the line.
 
The filmmakers seem to have set out to make I Want Candy a British American Pie, and unlike most homegrown comedies it deserves some broad attention. Marketing will no doubt heavily feature the film’s American ‘star’, Carmen Electra, who plays the eponymous Candy Fiveways, a blue-movie starlet with a heart of gold. It should be noted that Electra is as dreadful here as she was in Scary Movie 4 and the rest of her big-bosomed body of work — somehow, even her porn acting is unconvincing — but don’t let that put you off.

Verdict
A warm-hearted, smutty comedy that, if predictable, has a likeable cast and plenty of zip.


Reviewer: Nick de Semlyen

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Your Reviews
Average user rating for I Want Candy
Empire Star Rating

really funny
Empire User Rating

really wanted to see this for a while now and i werent dissapointed. There are many laugh out loud parts and is definately woth going to see. ... Read More

JordGall About me
20:35, 31 March 2007 | Report This Post

really funny
Empire User Rating

really wanted to see this for a while now and i werent dissapointed. There are many laugh out loud parts and is definately woth going to see. ... Read More

JordGall About me
20:35, 31 March 2007 | Report This Post

Fun for a wet Thursday afternoon
Empire User Rating

sorry double post.     ... Read More

Scruffybobby About me
16:40, 29 March 2007 | Report This Post

Fun for a wet Thursday afternoon
Empire User Rating

This is a nice, slighlty naughty way to spend a cuople of hours on a dreary afternoon. Not much more than that though. It's predictable and not very convincing especially as far as the romance between Electra and Burke goes and tamer than you might think - expect an "unrated" DVD release in a couple of months But it is entertaining enough to hold your interest and likeable enough make you want to see the guys do well ... Read More

Scruffybobby About me
16:40, 29 March 2007 | Report This Post

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