Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

alkaizen Well, when i was watching this movie, i was thinking that the writer know some Brazilian family, because "the Martins" are exactly like an common Brazilian family (they should change the name of this movie to "The Brazilians").The main character (and the rest of his family) don't work, live with government benefits, steal things, is impolite, is dumb, don't respect anyone. His son is donkey and his daughter is pregnant on adolescence.The ending is dreadful, Robert Martin get under arrest, but after few time, he back to his house and the movie finishes, so, the movie finishes like it started, nothing special happened.I am Brazilian and i don't like those people, but this movie no have funny.

Theo Robertson I didn't have hopes for this at all . Lee Evans is kind of like Jerry Lee Lewis cross bred with Norman Wisdom while Kathy Burke is a good actress but is type cast in roles as council estate scum so a film where they both appear as two down and out losers didn't strike me as a great film The opening scene opens with Mr Martin looking up at the sun telling his son that this time tomorrow they'll be going on a foreign holiday , the back drop disappears and you realise the characters are standing at a busy motorway junction . It's a clichéd scene but an amusing one . They go home and have a barbecue - By setting a couple of tyres on fire . Again this is very amusing but then everything starts to fall apart as Evans goes OTT and waves a gun around . There's many scenes like this where Evans and Burke and the supporting cast give either very humorous or very moving performances only to ruin it by suddenly spouting expletives , screaming or gurning . One moment you're about to enjoy this film then the next you're holding the remote wondering if it might be a good idea to see what's on the other sideSeveral people have commentated on the way THE MARTINS changes mood not only between scenes but during scenes too and it's impossible not to notice this . Yeah it's a comedy but what else is it trying to be ? Is it a bizarre romance ? A social drama ? certainly Evans and Burke do their best with the shaky material but writer/director Tony Grounds should have developed his idea a bit more before he shot the movie which is an ironic thing to say considering the number of scenes featuring a gun

bob the moo Robert Martin is unemployed, a bit of a geezer and always on the scrounge – whether it be benefits or entering every competition he sees. When he loses out on a dream holiday he believes he is due, he flips out and uses a mate's gun to get a bit of respect from those he feels have wronged him just because of who he is. While the police follow up a series of bizarre reports of gun crime involving a Chav, Robert also finds out that a mate is coming out of prison with the knowledge that Robert slept with his wife. The pressure to get any holiday and get out of town with his dysfunctional family gets to him.Although it goes to extremes with the plot, this film is still an enjoyable look at a typically Chav family where you can hardly see the people past the shouting, drinking and generally antisocial behaviour. Grounds' script works well because he doesn't try to make us like them (because most of the UK don't) but he does enough with them to let us see them in good light and bad – both as products of their environments as well as causing their problems for themselves. This means the drama works well even though it is stretched at points by the action, because it is the characters that we are here for.As such it is the performances from Evans and Burke that make it work so well. Viewers moaning about how they should be funny and how disappointing the two were have simply missed the point. It is their convincing portrayal of a Chav couple in love that makes it work so well; they allow their characters to be convincingly rough but also give room for believable soul-searching whether it is spoken or just in quiet moments. They work well together and individually. Without the thought the rest of the family are Chav clichés, albeit convincing clichés. The support cast are good enough to judge the couple without it being too heavy handed or judgemental. I can understand why viewers moan and complain about how it isn't funny enough, because they have just listened to the marketing department that pitched this as a trashy comedy, but trust me when I say that the performances drive this film and make it as engaging as it is.Not the sort of thing that will travel well outside the UK but it is an effective drama that takes a fair and balanced look at a typical Chav family. Yes the plot has to go to extremes to move it all along but it is the characters where the film is and they are worth watching for not only because of how well written they are but also how good the serious work of Evans and Burke is.

MIKEMARSHALL-1 Lee Evans puts in a superb performance as Bob Martin in this poignant black comedy, proving his comic talent transfers just as easily to the big screen. Kathy Burke also puts in a flawless performance as his long suffering wife.The picture tells the story of a family we all know, from any council estate around England, neighbours from hell type stuff, and yet at the same time makes you identify with the plight of the main character as he struggles to make sense of his life.There are some great visual gags as well as some genuinely funny lines and all the while you feel as though Evans is an almost psychotic who could snap at any moment.If you liked The Parole Officer, I think you'll like this, although slightly darker, the comedy is on a par with Steve Coogan.