Guest House Paradiso (1999) User Reviews

just like "Bottom"...

[KELDER-3 · 6/10 · 23 October 2000]

..only worse

the beating each other up, and destroying everything in sight was funny when the 2 main characters were still adolescent students in "The Young Ones", but this movie just isn't it. It's slightly funny every now and then, but nothing special.

a 6 (for the sake of it)

slapstick gods

[Swannee13 · 7/10 · 6 August 2006]

i had been looking for this film for so long before i found it, i had seen it when i was younger and loved it, after my second viewing i still loved it and i still do.

this is a love/hate film, if you like bottom, young ones, the comic strip, then you will find this funny. If you don't like that kind of humour then don't bother. I love this film and have grown up with these comedy programmes, for me this film is simply placing their comic genius on the big screen.. It is not an award winner by any means but if you just want good wholesome slapstick then this is it!

the film lacks the quality of the TV series and this is usually the case with films but it still has enough material to keep you laughing even if a lot of the jokes are pretty similar to their previous work.

yes, the humour is a little childish and not to everyone's taste but sometimes you just need that in a film.

"Candle in the eye!"

[MrTrees · 26 December 1999]

I've always liked to think of myself as an intelligent and sophisticated viewer of both movies and television. I've always prided myself on appreciating films with strong, uncompromising stories. I know what David Lynch is going on about, okay?

The only trouble is that, for some bizarre reason, the sight of Rik Mayall pretending to kick Adrian Edmondson in the groin (accompanied by an over the top crunching sound effect) never, ever fails to make me laugh like an idiot who's just seen an ex-Doctor Who slip over on a banana skin.

So excited was I at Richie and Eddie's leap to the celluloid fantasy of the big screen ('ere, 'ark at 'im) that I arrived an hour and five minutes early. I'd been waiting for the film ever since the first rumours about a year and a half before hand.

With such a build up, how could it leave up to my expectations? Well, I don't know, but it did.

Hysterical laughter ensued right from the off (that's right, I even laughed at the close up of Richie sleeping that starts the film) and didn't stop for, ooh, some time (half way through the ending titles, I think).

As movie sandwiches go, this one had a good spread, but had some very good chunks added to the mixture. Amongst the best were Richie's hysterical laughter/wince inducing 'Candle in the eye' and the scene with Simon Pegg's nipple ring that got a truly amazing reaction from a woman sat near me.

So, I loved it. True, not everybody finds somebody getting a fire extinguisher in the face, or getting trapped in an oven, or all of the other really painful goings on funny, but we don't talk about them.

Any problems? Well...it ended a bit suddenly. It took me a couple of seconds to realize the film was actually over. It did lack Rik and Ade's usual bitter nastiness - just look how many Bottom escapades ended with Richie and Eddie's untimely deaths.

Still, a good note to end on: It's bloody funny. No, bloody bloody funny.

An Overlooked Classic (Sort Of)

[extravaluejotter · 6/10 · 1 August 2007]

"Guesthouse Paradiso" is a typical low-budget British movie. You've seen most of the cast on TV dozens of times and everything about it screams that no expense has been spent in its production. There are dozens of movies like this languishing on the shelves at BlockBusters so why pick up "Guesthouse Paradiso"?

Only because it's pretty much the last hurrah of anarchic comedy duo Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall, who have spent the best part of 2 decades getting laughs out of bodily functions and cartoon violence. Anyone who is a fan of their "Bottom" TV series will know just what to expect.

"Guesthouse Paradiso" is as deep and complex as a puddle of vomit but has a high content of laughs, wince-making fight scenes and stunts. Ignore the thin plot and concentrate on Mayall and Edmondson as they have a laugh and try not to injure each other too seriously.

dark British comedy

[samuelmrose · 7/10 · 28 August 2004]

bottom at its absolute highest perfection. who ever says slap stick comedy is dead and boring is completely wrong. not that this film will only appeal to those who are of a masculine nature. this is another quality British dark comedy with many many jokes not violence related, but it helps if you can let your senses go and laugh at the sheer stupidity of it all.

this is a true example of thriving British ingenuity and homegrown talent hats off to them. on a performance level it reminds me very much of the early works of the marx brothers where the same level of enthusiasm and devotion are present in their acting styles, resulting in a performance where the audience can really engage the innate human desire to see others suffer, yet to be detached and still feel safe, much like the principle many TV chat shows operate on. a truly marvelous bit of manipulation leaving all parties feeling better off.

Mostly very funny!

[gdoc71 · 7/10 · 30 June 2002]

I found the first half of Guesthouse Paradiso extremely funny, but then things went a bit downhill after that. The writers should have kept up the situation-comedy style and guest-abusing, and they should have done something funnier with the aggressive Italian. But because of the first half, I give this 7/10.

Not as inventive as it could have been...

[The_Movie_Cat · 4/10 · 8 December 1999]

The first time I had heard of Guest House Paridiso was in the, er... "washroom" after having just seen Fight Club. In each urinal was deposited a small, round black circle. When the circle came into contact with moisture (to put it delicately), it caused a colour picture to form, with photographs of the two stars and the tag line "You'll P*** Yourself Laughing". When you'd finished washing your hands, the circle had dried and faded to black again, waiting to spring it's surprise on the next "victim".

Okay, maybe the punchline wasn't terribly sophisticated, but you have to admit it was innovative. In fact, I think I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it in my life before, and these days of over a century of cinema and marketing, that's a real feat. What a pity the film that went with it failed to live up to the promise.

I hate to pan Guest House Paridiso and I am indebted to Rik Mayall (Richard Twat) and Adrian Edmondson (Eddie Elizabeth Ndingombaba) for many years of laughter through their appealing television series, be it the invention of The Young Ones (1982-1984), the sitting room plays of Bottom (1991-1995), or even solo work, such as Rik in the New Statesman (1988-1993). In fact, this would have made an hilarious 45 minute tv special. Unfortunately, its an 89 minute film.

There's definitely some merit to be had, and I laughed continuously throughout the protracted finale, which spoofed the Exorcist and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and involved... well, you'll have to see that bit for yourself. Yet often the pace is leaden, and a sterile atmosphere is throughout. The two stars (Edmondson taking his usual backseat, this time due to the fact that he adequately directs) never really get into first gear, Mayall only sporadically showing the foul-mouthed mania that makes us love him on the small screen. Indeed, the writers' presumption that we are already familiar with the characters leads to them being underdelivered to the audience. The slight hints of depth seen in the series (Richie's effeminate, failed social-climbing for example) are not present here, and instead we are left with parodies of parodies.

The Fawlty Towers accusation does pass water, complete with drunken chef and unseen, called-for waiter "Pasquele", which uncannily rhymes with Manuel. Some of the ideas, such a hotel next to a nuclear reactor with a childrens' swing hanging over a cliff face, are very, very funny, but ultimately the frenetic pace is stolen, the two constantly looking for a studio audience that isn't there, and all the "dead laugh" areas patched up with incidental "comedy" music that would have been dated in a Carry On film two decades ago.

Paridiso's brand of puerile, sadistic, perverse humour IS funny, and I feel sure it will make you laugh ... just not as often as it should.

Looney Tunes on speed

[Mark-1384 · 9/10 · 22 October 2004]

I saw this when it first came out, and found it to be a work of some genius; but I must confess I was clearly in the minority at the time.

For me, the progressive lunacy of the proprietors of Guest House Paradiso just gets better and better throughout the film, with one of the most hilarious climaxes to a film ever.

But I wouldn't recommend it to Mother.

Lovers of gross-out comic book style humour will appreciate this movie; there are subtle jokes hidden away, but they are usually quickly flattened by a comedy frying pan. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson are superb, and the deadpan, unsuspecting guests are also excellent.

Guest House Paradiso

[phubbs · 6/10 · 12 July 2014]

Right lets get down to it then, this is basically the Bottom movie end of story, yeah sure there are the odd changes and snips around the edges but its quite simply Bottom on the big screen. Rik and Ade have played the same type of characters for their entire careers undoubtedly but these two fellas are clearly 'Richie' and 'Eddie' of Hammersmith, I think all the fans can agree on that despite what the guys say.

This works for and against the movie in my opinion. Basically we see the many of the same gags, pratfalls and violent slapstick from the TV show...and when I say the same I mean pretty much identical. The only difference is of course its been fleshed out on the silver screen with a better budget so everything looks slicker. Again this is not a problem essentially, I am very happy to see Rik and Ade knock seven shades of poo out of each other with the use of bigger and better effects...to a degree. But at times during the film I did find myself thinking they are rehashing too many old classic sight gags, verbal gags and violent gags and somehow it doesn't actually look as good!

How is this possible you might ask, well personally I think its down to the fact the TV show was actually more adult than the film and much more grittier. The constraints of the TV show elevate the material because it feels more anarchic and wild yet at the same time restricted, the stunts and effects are slapped together and seem really dangerous and realistic, plus the lack of any swearing somehow made it feel even ruder and filthier which I can't workout, the tempting hints I guess. In this film everything just seems a bit slow and tired, the guys are obviously not as young anymore but the fights and pratfalls just feel weaker and less inventive.

'Pheeb...One boiled egg.'

The sets in the film are nice and have that classic typically dated British seaside B&B visual atmosphere and vibe going on. Watching carefully I loved all the old set decorations strewn around the hotel like the old paintings and historic furniture. The kind of stuff your gran had when you were a kid back in the day, or even your parents back in the late 70's and 80's (if you're around my age). I also really liked all the little nooks, crannies and secret passage ways throughout the hotel which are used by Richie to spy on people and pinch things. It all adds more scope and depth to the setting plus adds inventive ways to create more laughs...which it does nicely in one sequence.

So the films visuals around the hotel do look good n grimy as you'd expect, certain props are used disgustingly well used for various painful moments and the sets are well designed reflecting that classic Bottom feel from the Hammersmith flat. The extra cast members are a solid oddball bunch that back at the time were relatively unknown but have now gone on to bigger things, most notably Bill Nighy and Simon Pegg. Neither of the pair actually have massive parts in the film of course as it all revolves around Richie and Eddie, but they add a much needed boost to the overall quality. Nighy probably gets the best of it with his face-off against Mayall in some classic Fawlty Towers-esque scenes at breakfast. Never really liked the character or performance from Cassel as it just felt way out of place really, other than that I still don't get why they didn't cast all their old school mates from previous shows, we get 'Spudgun' so what about the rest?

'Mmm Lady Diana Princess of Wales...slap me up you b*tch'

Despite some great looking bits n pieces and some decent scenes of Mayall madness and campness, at the end of the day I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by the whole thing. I think like most folk I went into this with really really seriously high expectations from the pairs glittering TV career and basically the film could never live up to that. Don't get me wrong the guys have a bloody good go and the movie definitely delivers what you want from the duo in terms of crude crass vomit inducing toilet humour. I just really think this should of been a much stronger blend of their live stage show and the TV show, it should of been an all out adult comedy really. They try their best but it really feels like the laughs are being forced out after a bad spell of comical constipation. Was never too sure on that film title either.

6/10

I prefer the TV show

[bazmitch23 · 4/10 · 12 January 2014]

When I was 11 going on 12, I never heard of this film until I saw a TV advert for it's video release. I actually thought it was a straight to video film.

The question is how do you make a movie based on Bottom? Doing a live show is one thing, but a movie? Since Rik and Ade are big Fawlty Towers fans and always reference it in their work, they decided to have Richie and Eddie run a hotel with their own Bottom style to it.

There were some scenes I liked such as the kitchen fight, the scene where Richie is wearing the bikini and is trying to hide from everyone and my fave scene "I want to eat it naked."

But yeah, the film is ruined by the overlong vomit scene which I still have nightmares about. Why did Rik and Ade think that people would want to go to the cinema to see a finale that involves vomiting.

I put that scene on my "The most disgusting scenes in movies" rightfully so.

Also, why did the guests vomit on Gino? They never met this guy. Why are they vomiting on him? And then they killed him. That's great. A group of innocent people just killed someone.

Also, I feel sorry for the guests, because now that they've eaten radioactive waste, they would probably have to get new organs because their old ones were probably destroyed by the radioactive waste. I'm no expert on radioactive waste, but I'm guessing that's what probably happen to you if you eat it.

And what happen to Richie and Eddie who have made their stay Hell? They get tickets for the Caribbean. Yeah, I'm suppose to root for 2 men who nearly killed innocent people and don't care about them.

Bottom works as a TV show, but not as a movie. This movie pretty much ruined Rik and Ade's career just like the way Les Patterson Saves The World ruined Barry Humphries' career.

90 minutes of brilliant depravity

[redkiwi · 9/10 · 6 December 1999]

A sign of what to expect in this film came when I spotted that this was the first (and probably the last) film to have in its credits a "Vomit Technician".

In what is a couple of hours of silly gags, hilarious violence and excellent slapstick humour.

This film was just what you'd expect from the Bottom boys, and it is great to see them back in their best form after Rik Mayall's life threatening accident.

Richie (Mayall) and Eddie (Edmondson) are too similar to their Bottom characters, if we can have any criticism at all, and Edmondson does a surprisingly good job in directing the film also.

This film has already spawned the predictable comparisons to Fawlty Towers that just aren't there, and the Guest House Paradiso itself is hardly Torquay!

Watch out for some excellently crafted dialogue amongst all the violence and mayhem.

If you don't like Bottom you'll probably hate this - but I loved it.

Appallingly pathetic

[kristof-vajda · 6/10 · 23 November 2006]

Possibly the worst film within the genre in existence. It was announced as a comedy, but is simply tragically pathetic. I don't think anyone could have achieved anything more terrible and irritating if they were specifically requested to. It is toilet humour at its very poorest, I would avoid even watching the trailer. I only went to see it because it was announced that if you like Monty Python, you are bound to love this. Whoever wrote that was either biased or seriously deranged. I am still bewildered how one can honestly believe such a statement. Rarely do I leave the cinema, really it takes a lot of effort for a film to have that effect on me: this one did it in just 30 minutes.

Not the disaster it's made out to be; but a pretty poor film

[HenryHextonEsq · 4/10 · 30 December 2002]

"Guest House Paradiso" manages to capture some of the appeal of the BBC comedy show "Bottom". That is maybe more than I expected to be able to say - this film's reputation is beyond awful.

But equally I can say that it fails to replicate the appeal of the TV series; a practically budget-less, archetypal British sitcom. Of course one with absurdly cartoonish violence - as replicated in one maniacally daft extended sequence here - and a general lack of subtlety, although at times in the early series' you have substantial allusions to Beckett. There are good jokes here, and a general grasp of comedy, but the desperation is truly what is missing from the TV series; the quite melancholic edge of the TV series is lost. Instantly, the echoing of "Fawlty Towers" seems a mistaken step; it has no chance of echoing that small screen triumph of acting and scripting. The familiarity of the setting allows some obvious comic opportunities to come from it, and indeed there are laughs. But really, it seems Ade and Rik settle for too little, when they could have perhaps taken "Bottom" in an interesting big screen direction.

The comic playing is steady, but really minor fare aside from the regulars; or leads, considering this is a film. The desperation, as I said, does not truly register as much in the characters as in the TV show: Richie is Fawlty-fied to some extent and loses much of his social pretension and often just becomes an unpleasant, absurd man; Eddie is pretty much the absurd, resigned, would-be 'hardman' he was in the TV series, if not drawn in as much depth. To be fair, Mayall and Edmondson are amusing; they cannot fail but be that. I've long liked their work, as a broad, if also very sophisticated comic pairing. But there is nothing new to the characters or anything truly to match the depth gone into in the three TV series' - which often were practically two-handers of inspired banality and cracked civility.

Just one minor but telling pointer on this film's failure; the characters' admittedly jokey original surnames are changed - from Richard 'Richie' Richard to Richie Twat - cue unsubtle, old pronunciation jokes - and Edward 'Eddie' Elizabeth Hitler to Eddie Elizabeth Ndingombaba - why? This is a nutshell of the film's lack of a canny instinct in translating "Bottom" to film. Yes, there are fine moments here; Richie's dream - the promise of the 'nymphs' turning to a drenching in cider and absurdly maniacal Eddie laughter; "Ha ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-*HA*!" The absurd laugh that Richie does when a would-be guest says, "This place is like the Mary Celeste"... Mayall and Edmondson do their business very well on such bits, being very able, seasoned comic performers. Also, Eddie's getting those child guests drunk and taking them to play on a swing that is going over a cliff; very good. Such parts as these are very "Bottom", others - the wince-worthy Simon Pegg nipple lifting, the unstable Italian husband of Helene Mathieu - are really not worth commenting on. I like the ending a little, with Eddie's tortured decision over whether to exchange his suitcase, jammed full with booze, for a new identity, money and passport. "Oh... all *right*...!" ;-) And then a song by the ever-glorious Bonzo Dog Band playing out over the credits. But the whole end section of toxic extrusion is very tenuously linked in. Fairly spectacular in a goofball, 'gross' fashion, but it really isn't character or dialogue comedy, as "Bottom" should largely be.

Basically, a poor film, watchable certainly, but sadly irrelevant next to the TV "Bottom". It revels in 'gross out', unsophisticated comedy of the most shameless kind, without enough real context. This is not always bad, and the film sporadically entertains, but really there is far too little... far too little of that great feeling one got when watching the TV series; a beast possessed of wonderfully crude humour and sodden anguish at life.

Rating:- **/*****

Guest House Paradiso is Rik's and Ade's finest hour

[ian-sturrock · 29 August 2003]

Guest House Paradiso is Rik's and Ade's finest hour, given the big screen treatment it is way better than Bottom. I really do not understand why this film has such bad press is it Rik's reputation and his love hate relationship with the tabloids? The manic cartoonish violence, the bottom/toilet humour and schoolboy jokes are not everyone's cup of tea but Ade and Rik as their characters in the TV show are, are purposely absurd and unsophisticated characters, this is why internationally they are immediately recognisable and loved. Mayall and Edmondson do their best to craft a wonderfully crude film with humour that will be understood in ever country on the planet, if this is what they set out to do, to make an international popular hit, they succeeded hands down. So in my humble opinion this Guest House Paradiso is a stonking success and their finest hour.

Really Funny Movie

[monkey-man · 6/10 · 13 January 2006]

I was board and it was late at night and as i was flicking though the TV channels i came across this movie called Guest House Paradiso so i watched it and i am so glad i watched it because this movie is really good and i never would of seen this movie if i did not watch it on TV.

This movie is really funny i was laughing so much as i was watching this movie and the story line is about 2 men and they own a hotel that is next to a nuclear power plant and in the hotel is where all of the funny stuff happens.There are a lot of funny scenes in this movie like when one of the men that owns the hotel is running around the hotel in one of the hotel guests spiky rubber under wear that he stole and he is hiding from the other guests and he is trying to return the under wear and the funny/gross scene in the end of the movie when all the guests are spewing because they got feed contaminated fish.The good actor Simon Pegg from the good movie Shaun Of The Dead and he has a cameo in the good movie Land Of The Dead stars as a guest called Mr Nice in this movie.

Over all i really like this movie and if u want a good giggle u should rent or buy this movie.My rating for this movie is six and a half out of ten.

Feeb! Hello yes its Mr Thwaite

[Dan_Sadler_1987 · 7/10 · 23 June 2003]

I cant see how some people cant find this film funny i saw the end of it on Sky Movies in 2001 thought i would by the DVD since then i have laughed my balls of with lines like Rik Mayalls laugh "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" and Eddies "Hello night porter" when they never get any phone calls overall i think this film is very very funny.

Needs a lively audience.

[blade-21 · 6/10 · 5 December 1999]

I saw the film at a preview in a crowded cinema and I throughly enjoyed it. I found the humour hilariously funny in a gross, ribald sort of way. I went along to see it again with a friend one week later and I rarely found cause to laugh.

Looking back on this I have decided that this difference was not simply because I had seen it all before. The biggest factor was that on the second occasion the auditorium was only about a third full and audience laughter was scattered & there was little feedback. I concluded that this film requires a solid audience reaction to be enjoyed & would be good if seen alongside a gang of drunken students.(I mean no disrespect to drunken students - I was one myself once!!)

I expected a lot more

[not_A_sissy · 5/10 · 23 December 2005]

"Guest house Paradiso" is not a good movie. It's not terrible, neither, as long as you enjoy the Bottom series. But the credits leave you thinking "What was wrong this one?". Basically it is because the funny stuff doesn't represent a third of the running time (if that).

What we get here is a weak plot line: Richie T-w-a-t (spelled Thwait) and Eddie Ndingombaba (surnames changed for copyright reasons) run a ruinous hotel near a Nuclear power plant. There are lots of average jokes (only a few good ones) and some real nasty scenes that almost made me want to puke. The supporting actors were great, though (Simon Pegg and Vincent Cassel).

All in all, I'd say this movie could have been a fairly amusing 29' Bottom episode, had all the unfunny scenes been deleted. But for a 80' film, I think it's only worth watching for hardcore Rik and Ade fans.

Am I the only one who loved it????

[h_tails1983 · 9/10 · 27 May 2000]

I went to see it about 3 days before Xmas and lets just say it, it was a great Xmas trip!!!! Better than Fawlty Towers any day!!!!When I heard the name Mr. Twat, I killed myself laughing!! With him getting stuck in the oven with that underwear was brill but oh the chef was hilraious!! Spud Gun at his best!!! But I look around and everyone seems to hate it!!! Well youre not true Bottom fans!!! Im getting it when it comes onto video, thats for sure!!!!

it's pronounced 'thwaite!"

[professor_asphincter · 7/10 · 24 March 2003]

There are some bits of this film that make you want to vomit. thats fine because most of the cast end up doing just that. There are parts of the film that make you want to cringe up into a little ball until the nastiness passes. Don't do it. watch the nipple ring sequence. watch the fight sequences. thrill to the lurid green projectile upchuck that somehow manages to reference 'The Exorcist' AND 'Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom' at the same time.

Just one thing to remember about this project: it does feel like a movie. this is not just an extra long 'Bottom' episode, it is a complete movie. the sets are actually very good, feeling like a location shoot rather than a soundstage, and there are some very funny squalid moments. The cast is very well put together, and even the young children are not annoying. The subtle humour of the Plant workers lock-in when one guy is clearly drinking from a ladies half pint glass, the sequence where Eddie packs his suitcase and the state of the kitchen.

The long opening with Eddie on the bike is for me though the weak point. it seems too long and almost to silly to laugh at. It ios eceptionally well filmed and edited, and the stunt sequences are fantastic. Technically Ade Edmundson has produced a very fine result. choreography and timing are worthy of Jackie chan, and in many places the script is two of Britains funniest actors/writers going full on to offend.

as funny as very dirty underwear

[seressac · 1/10 · 30 November 1999]

I saw this film as a sneak preview regular. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise, and I strongly recommend any other movie. There is nothing funnier at times than people bumping their head and consequently being in a lot of pain. I also see much fun in riot-fags and screwed-up faces. British humor can be hilarious. But this movie has this all from beginning to end, it never stops, it never gets funnier, it has no story at all. It's claim to fame might be to show everything that is disgusting at maximum volume without a grain of wit, story or meaning. Do not waste you money on this one. If it's the only film in town, go read a book.

"Laughing my ass to pieces"

[Nils-Granberg · 10/10 · 4 October 2001]

Well, well, well! what can you say? Masterpiece seems to weak! perfect is not enough! Divine? perhaps. this is the best slapstick movie I have ever seen. the kitchen scene beats anything. It´s stupid, disgusting, and... totally wonderful. I worship this movie. (wonder why no one have done action figures of Richie and eddie)

A wonderful farce

[David the Buff · 7/10 · 8 December 1999]

Guest House Paradiso is a funny movie, in fact at times it reaches levels of hilarity. The film flows all the way through and is only marred by the ending. The ending looks as if a large portion of the budget has been splashed on it but it ruins the film and leaves you with a sense of disappointment. This is because the ending deters from the rest of the film which is truely vintage bottom. Richie and Eddie are gleaming and for a while Eddie takes the most laughs even though Richie is my personal favourite.

The violence is great and the dialogue is extremely witty, especially when Richie corrects one of the guests about how to pronounce his name and blurts out the 'C' word. You'll just have to see the movie to understand the context of the gag.

On a personal note I am happy to see Rik Mayall back on form after his near fatal accident.

Top class for a comedy and on those grounds (considering the poor ending).

7.5/10

I nearly smiled once. During the closing credits.

[zh84 · 2/10 · 26 December 2002]

I did eventually come to like Bottom, but this film had nothing in it for me. The best I can say for it is that Helene Mahieu, as `Gina Carbonara', was beautiful and always elegant in knee-length sheath dresses of the kind fashionable around 1960, and they had the decency not to spray her with the green slime that was used as hilarious radioactive vomit. Other than that the film was a ghastly mess of painfully crude humour and jokes often telegraphed minutes in advance. In the sitcom, the ridiculously over-the-top violence is something which Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson inflict on each other, and there it doesn't matter. They are like cartoon characters: the audience comes to feel that they don't really feel pain, any more than Daffy Duck or Elmer Fudd does, and so it's possible to relax into the manic way the story is run. In the film, their horrible behaviour is visited on all sorts of other people at the guesthouse they own, who deserve sympathy: I don't think I could find a scene of Simon Pegg's nipple being torn out by a hook funny if I tried (though I'm aware other people on this server did). It's a good thing for him he got involved in Spaced afterwards: that was worthy of his talents. In any case, Messrs Edmonson and Mayall had chosen a bad subject: the comedy theme of `unpleasant character runs second-rate hotel and mistreats the guests' was done and gift-wrapped for the public by John Cleese and Connie Booth more than twenty years ago, and even a good attempt at that situation is going to suffer by comparison with Fawlty Towers. I suppose, in a way, Guesthouse Paradiso benefited from that, because it was so bad that after a while the comparisons didn't even come to mind: it was entirely in a class of its own, and a good thing too.

I watched this film sober. I can understand that being drunk might help to make it look better. I suspect, though, that it's best appreciated if you've drunk so much you're actually unconscious by the time it starts.