6
DVD

One of those (very) low-budget, silly British comedies which has somehow managed to obtain an insanely stacked cast. In this case it is pretty much a whos-who of emerging (or already emerged) British comedy talent, plus a sprinkling of slumming-it legends. So you have Aimee Lou Wood of SEX EDUCATION; Lolly Adefope of GHOSTS; Nicola Coughlan of DERRY GIRLS and BRIDGERTON; Jessica Hynes (SPACED); Nick Frost (the CORNETTO TRILOGY... also SPACED); James Acaster, Paul Kaye, the list goes on. My suspicion, having seen both this and HORRIBLE HISTORIES: THE MOVIE (to which this feels very similar, along with, in places, THE PRINCESS BRIDE and, of course, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL) is that British comedians just really enjoy dicking around in fields and forests. Anyway, given the talent involved SEIZE THEM! rightfully should be a lot funnier and more interesting than it is. As it is, the film is good for a few chuckles, but there are as many gags that miss than hit (or gags which are amusing at first but which the script insists on mulching into oblivion through repetition); the story-- a sweary, occasionally bloody medieval road-trip-- is perfectly serviceable, albeit there is nothing in here that will surprise. The production value is looooowww-- the whole thing looks like it was made for about £10, although there are some nice atmospheric shots of the British coast (compare and contrast to that other recent Medieval comedy, CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY). Everyone involved is clearly having a great time making this; most of the cast are hamming it up as much as possible (Coughlan in particular as the scenery-chewing Big Bad), leaving it to Wood as the irritating, highly-strung Queen and Adefope as her kindly servant to carry the (limited) emotional arc of the film alone. They do a solid job and there is great chemistry between them and Frost, who is consistently amusing as a shit-shovelling peasant. James Acaster arrives for, I think, two scenes and as much as I love the guy he reallyyyyy cannot act.

So overall-- its cheap, but it is very cheerful. The cast are having a wonderful time, even if this doesn't quite all trickle down to the audience. But even if it doesn't fully work and the story beats are rather predictable, the quality of the cast means that the film is never less than watchable. A great choice if you are after a fun, undemanding light watch which doesn't take itself too seriously and which is full of excellent British actors.