You’d think comedian Ben Miller’s day job as one half of double act Armstrong and Miller would have stood him in good stead for his directing debut - a film about a comedy double act. It hasn’t. His screen duo, played by Noel Clarke and Johnny Harris, aren’t the least bit funny or engaging. It’s a fatal flaw and means we don’t particularly care whether the pair succeed or fail in what Miller portrays as the cutthroat world of British stand-up comedy.
How talentless and deluded are Clarke’s geeky waiter, confusingly named Clark, and Harris’s desperate wannabe, Warren, meant to be? From the moment they first hook up, after Clark heckles Warren during his first open-mic performance, Miller doesn’t seem sure and his indecision sinks the film. He does succeed, though, in calling in favours from an impressive roster of British comedy celebs – from Jo Brand and Jack Dee to David Baddiel and Frank Skinner – who pop up in cameos as themselves. They ought to lend the film an air of authenticity, but their presence only shows up how unfunny and unconvincing Huge is.
On general release from 8th July.
