dracher Actors tend to place their trust in directors, even old stalwarts such as Mr Palmer, Ms Blethyn and Mr Wilkinson. Once the point has been missed by the producers/director, although in this case I don't think the point was ever sighted, the production must run its collision course with disaster, and not even such fine actors as were employed to give it life, could save Piccadilly Jim .PG Wodehouse was a successful writer who knew the value of the suspension of disbelief, and was able to deliver the theatrical creation of a world which, although highly unlikely, with a cleverly constructed set of plausibilities, would, and did, pass as the truth.Theatre has many natural enemies. Because it is not the truth, but the appearance of truth, theatre has many tricks and falsehoods in its infrastructure, and these are all susceptible to betrayal in drama, but in comedy they are especially vulnerable. The absolute death sentence on comedy, is to "mug" (pull faces) to attempt to be funny, or to overstate a quirk or characteristic.In Piccadilly Jim, the director breaks all the rules of good comedy by allowing, not only "mugging," and (keep it in) play funny work, but a whole swatch of clashes to occur. Modern dress, modern language, caricature rather than character, a mysterious failure at irregular intervals to use film language, and the erratic use of tempo, which often stifles its own dialogue.Many a great opera singer has come unstuck via the technicalities of a so called simple folk song. Perhaps this film came likewise unstuck, by its creators missing the hidden vortex within the supposed simplicity of the original story.

b.nicholson This film has no redeeming features whatsoever. I knew what I was in for when I saw that it was made in the Isle of Man. What is it about films made there over the past ten years or so? Why are they all so lousy? Think Blackball. Think The Dark. You look at all of the cast and crew and you think - Why did it end up so bad? Decent actors who look like they can't wait to get the money and sod off on the next ferry. The direction is woeful yet John McKay has done OK TV work. The editing is some of the worst I have seen, yet you look at David Freeman's track record and you go fair enough, he must know his stuff. The script is by Oscar winning toff Julian Fellows, surely he must know his Wodehouse back to front? It looks like a sure fire winner. I warn you, its all true...no wit, no style and no fun.

graham clarke There are not many actors whose appearance in a movie is reason enough for me to watch. Sam Rockwell is one of them. His unique charm was perfectly suited to the quirky indie movies he's played in. It was inevitable that his shot at big time Hollywood would come. First George Clooney insisted on him for "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and then he co-starred with Nicholas Cage in "Matchstick Men". For a brief moment I feared we would loose Sam. But no, his next career choice was to be "Piccadilly Jim". If you've not heard of it, not to worry, it went most deservedly on the straight-to-video route.The thing is – the industry simply has little faith in Sam Rockwell. Just look at the Video and DVD art work of his movies. In "Lawn Dogs" (his finest film) – he's barely off the screen, and yet the art work is dominated by Angie Harmon who barely has a minute of screen time. One can forgive "Confession of a Dangerous Mind" for such treatment when co-stars include Clooney and Julia Roberts – but Angie Harmon ?! The art work of "Piccadilly Jim" is equally unfair. Rockwell has the title role and yet who should dominate the art work but Alison Janey, in a very minor part. What makes Sam Rockwell such an appealing actor is the inability to pigeon hole him. But it would seem that the powers that be in the industry hold that against him."Piccadilly Jim" is a hugely misguided effort which backfires in all departments. Even the likes of Brenda Blethyn and Alison Janey fall short, while Frances O'Connor is completely out of her depth. Only Sam Rockwell, miscast as he might be, is, as always, terrific. Steer clear of this one on all accounts. Search out Rockwell's earlier works and here's hoping he'll be more fortunate with future projects.

centralparknyc I wanted to see the movie based on the cast and the subject matter sounded interesting. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its potential. The family strife, double identities, and trying to outdo others in the family all were good, but nothing really went over the edge and amazed me. If it all could have been orchestrated a bit better, the ending would have been more effective. The child in the film is unlikable and they don't spend much time exploring that character. I think that character could add something to the film. When they were going for slapstick, they should have went all out and put the actors to the test. Unfortunately that part of it felt very constrained.