Review of Bright Young Things (2003) by Joel A — 27 Apr 2014

Written and directed by Stephen Fry, (his directorial debut), adapted from Evelyn Waugh's 1930 novel Vile Bodies. It is meant to provide a social commentary of bohemian life in the 1930's, and it's a bubbly and likeable film, but not all of it works, despite the best efforts of the all star cast, and it does depict one party too many, by which point it does get a bit tedious and repetitive.

Aspiring novelist Adam Fenwick-Symes (Stephen Campbell Moore) works for tabloid newspaper magnate Lord Monomark (Dan Aykroyd), but he's found himself in a bit of a financial trouble which means he's had to postpone his wedding to Nina Blount (Emily Mortimer).

He wins £1000 after a game with Ginger Littlejohn (David Tennant), which a drunken Major (Jim Broadbent) tells Adam to put on a horse that won't win, which it does, to the tune of £33,000. But it takes Adam over a decade to get his money back from the Major, by which time, Adam is introduced to wild parties by Simon Balcairn (James McAvoy), a tabloid journalist who sneaks into parties.

It's a perfect fit for Fry's brand of wit, and he makes a decent job of his first time out as a directed, calling in favours from his friends, including John Mills, who does cocaine. Razz But the film lurches between zany wit and dark drama too much, which does spoil it slightly, despite all good intentions.