The
movie provides us with a behind-the-scenes view of how Cook and Moore
met as part of a larger ensemble review team, their early efforts at
working as a double act on stage and TV, their move to movies (first as
a team and then Moore’s solo career in Hollywood), their professional
break-up, and finally their tentative steps to renew the flawed
friendship over their later years. Many of the team’s career
highlights and memorable screen moments are recreated, particularly the
one-legged man skit, the Derek and Clive comedy outings, and their 1967
film Bedazzled. The
story is built around a framework in which two of the team’s best-known
characters – Pete and Dud – reminisce and watch parts of the film as it
unfolds. This device was better used in Kevin Spacey’s recent
biography of Bobby Darin, Beyond The Sea, but it works well enough to fill in some of the gaps for those who are less than familiar with the story. Not Only But Always
is a surprisingly brutally honest bio-pic that seems to focus on Cook
as (apparently) the most troubled half of the talented duo. In
doing so, there are times where it tends to dwell a little too heavily
on the negative aspects of his character, which is disapointing. As
a result, this becomes a somewhat slightly slanted view of the comedy
duo and gives the impression that Moore put up with a great deal of
ridicule and resentment from an unsympathetic Cook over the years and
was clearly under-rated as a musician and comedian until his eventual
years of success in Hollywood. This is not to say that it
presents Moore as a saint (he seems to spend most of life shagging
women or cavorting with topless starlets), but it seems to concentrate
more deeply on the torments that drove Cook into despair and an
untimely death in 1995 (which in fairness, does make for good viewing). Notting Hills Rhys Ifans takes on the lead (BAFTA Award-winning) role of Cook, with Aidan McArdle (Ella Enchanted)
as Moore. Both do an extremely impressive job of looking and
sounding like the originals and even as a long tiem fan, even I found I
accepted the two in roles rather quickly (unlike alot of other biopics
which seem to lack consistency with the subject). For fans of
“Pete and Dud”, this is yet another piece of history to unravel the
mystery of your favourite comedy duo - and for those who are unfamiliar
- it's simply a well constructed glimpse at the tensions that simmer
beneath the surface of every relationship within
showbusiness. EXTRAS
There
are no extras on the disc (a doco on the real Cook and Moore would have
suplemented this superbly) but the 100 minutes of viewing go quickly
enough to maintain your interest throughout.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: N/A
|
