Review of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) by Steve P — 05 Aug 2010

With his "quirky" physical features, Andy Serkis will never be one of Hollywood's leading men but if his astonishing performance in Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll is anything to go by, he certainly ought to.

Serkis is simply magnificent as Ian Dury in this entertaining biopic. To say he carries the film single-handed may be overstating things a touch (there's the excellent Bill Milner and Olivia Williams to be considered) but boy, is he the maniacally revolving fulcrum around which it spins...

This is a film that is almost worth labelling "not to be missed", not just for Serkis' riveting turn but for the faithfully captured depiction of the Blockheads' gigs - a little bit Vaudeville, a little bit Noir, and a whole lot of the glorious new age punk/funk innovation that spawned seminal hits like the eponymous title track and "Hit me with your Rhythm Stick": if Sid Vicious was the raging bullhorn of angry be-mohawked Punk, Ian Dury was the caustic, tongue-in-cheek Poet Laureate of the New Age movement...