Aiming to do for DJs what This Is Spinal Tap did for spandex-clad heavy rockers, It's All Gone Pete Tong is an engaging British comedy with a surprisingly warm heart. Paul Kaye (aka TV's ) delivers a full-on performance as club legend Frankie Wilde, going from raver to raving when his hearing fails him. Like much of the music he plays in this mockumentary by writer/director Michael Dowse (Fubar), Kaye proves that you can get a lot out of one note.
Imagine Carl Cox switching from a hard house track to Lionel Richie's Hello, and that pretty much sums up It's All Gone Pete Tong. (For those who aren't fluent in cockney, the title refers to something that's gone wrong.) Canadian director Dowse's pic charts the chemical highs and personal lows of Frankie Wilde after his fun-filled nights as one of Ibiza's top DJs is curtailed by a serious case of mutton jeffness.
"DISARMING AND IMMENSELY LIKEABLE ROMANCE"
It's definitely a film of two halves. Until Wilde's medical condition is diagnosed, the film's most memorable lines end up Frankie's nose. Thankfully, the early scenes - featuring Paul Kaye drooling like a rabid dog and too many unfunny talking heads discussing Frankie's rise and fall - are superseded by a disarming and immensely likeable romance between Frankie and local sign language teacher Penelope (Beatriz Batarda). There's also a running battle between the DJ and a creature called The Coke Badger which is absolutely nothing to do with soft drinks.
Avoiding the fate of its title, It's All Gone Pete Tong eventually wins you over with its warmth and offbeat sensibility. Give it a spin.