49 out of 63 people found the following review helpful:

What a load of Cock

James Lodge from Waterlooville, England, 10th July, 2006

I'm a huge fan of both Coogan and Brydon. Inspired by their spontaneously funny interviews promoting this film, I gathered a few friends and went off to the big screen to view. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. Laugh out loud funny? Mildy amusing in only two places does not warrant a comedy label. This is a protracted, painful and just plan boring movie. Half the party fell asleep and I was left feeling like an idiot for recommending such drivel. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME. This is overstuffed pompous drivel at its worst. AVOID.

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45 out of 66 people found the following review helpful:

A Cock and Bull Story

SAI81 from from Tonbridge, 28th January, 2006

An adaptation of Lawrence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy. Long described as unfilmable Tristram Shandy is a novel which takes the form of an autobiography by it's lead character, constant digressions mean it's also about the impossibility of writing the very book you are reading. Michael Winterbottom, never one to shirk a challenge or, as a film maker, slot into a pigeonhole has taken the novel and wisely not adapted it literally instead he has adapted its feeling. A Cock and Bull Story begins much like Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People with Steve Coogan essaying the role of the main character while commenting on the action and seemingly controlling the film. Soon another level of post modernism is added as we pull back to see the film crew (including Jeremy Northam as 'Mark', who is pretty clearly Winterbottom) at work and from there, over the course of one night, we follow the rivalry between Steve Coogan and co-star Rob Brydon, the various ways in which it's possible to adapt the book and the behind the scenes relationships of Coogan, his wife (the ever excellent Kelly MacDonald) and the runner he's infatuated with (28 Days Later's Naomie Harris). It's probably this that's the most entertaining part of the film with a gloriously self mocking cameo from Gillian Anderson and canny performances from Coogan and Brydon obviously not entirely themselves but not playing grotesque enough that the illusion gets broken. One of the prennial joys of a Michael Winterbottom film is the presence of his extended company of players; regular Shirley Henderson is as effortlessly wonderful as ever in another small part (why is this woman not a star?) and other familliar faces pop up in almost every scene. Coogan's terrific, doing a sterling job as Tristram, Tristram's father Walter and as Himself but the film is stolen from under his nose by an irresistible turn from Rob Brydon. Brydon's Toby is the most entertaining character in the life of Tristram Shandy; a soldier who got an intimate part of his anatomy shot off and can't talk about it. It is though as himself that Brydon mines the films richest seam of comedy. Whether he's discussing the colour of his teeth with Coogan, impersonating Coogan, or simply providing barely noticable background dialogue there's scarely a moment he's on screen that you won't be laughing. The structure of the film may sound intimidating and hard to follow but it isn't if anything this is Michael Winterbottom at his most accessible, his most crowdpleasing and probably his best.

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30 out of 43 people found the following review helpful:

Genius

Ben Sanchez from Southampton, England, 31st January, 2006

‘A Cock and Bull Story’ is both smart and ridiculously funny, making great use of Coogan and Brydon’s improvising skills, as the two leads bounce off each other. The behind–the-scenes parts of the film are almost like watching a documentary, and it is here that the script shines as the film-makers struggle with adapting the novel. There are countless hillarious scenes including Brydons impression of Coogan as Alan Partridge, and the Al Pacino impression competition which happens as the credits are rolling. Overall this is a brilliant piece of British comedy, a colourful mix of Extras and Pride and Prejudice, with a lot more wit and class than the latest Ben Stiller goof.

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20 out of 20 people found the following review helpful:

Dissapointing

Chris Bailey from Clacton, Essex, 8th February, 2007

Being a big fan of many of the names in this picture I was really looking forward to watching this film. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed. The story is bland and uninteresting and nothing really happens. I can see what Coogan and Brydon were trying to do with the film but unfortunately I don't think the script was quirky enough. This shouldn't be classified a comedy. More of an uninteresting attempt at a period drama/comedy. Avoid!

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Just a Bull-S**t story

MICHAEL from London W4, 25th February, 2010

Love Steve Coogan, talented fascinating, thoughtful guy. Partridge, 24 hour Party People, Sunshine, his interview on Desert Island discs..all brilliant. Top petrol-head too. But Steve...sorry mate this was honestly Sh*te. The emperor is wearing no clothes.

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tedious rubbish

A Customer from dorset, 14th January, 2010

never gets going - patiently waited but had to stop it after about 35mins - sorry (and I wasn't expecting Alan Partridge - I just wanted entertaining and it didn't happen !)

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Bull

muzz from , 19th December, 2009

It was hard going and only slightly amusing.

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A good idea wasted

OldTom from , 21st November, 2009

This is a “mocumentary” about the making of a Film of “Tristram Shandy”. But you feel that it can’t be the making of THIS film, because as Gillian Anderson says. “I can’t believe that’s the whole film!” Gillian Anderson, an actress in the film, is making a comment on the film she is in. This device works very well in places, but the longer the film goes on, the less well it works. Most of the Mocumentary part of the film (which is most of it) doesn’t have anything to do with “Tristam Shandy”. It doesn’t really have anything to do with anything. Yes, it’s ridiculous, and lots of Tristram Shandy is ridiculous, but a lot of the Modern Day parts wander aimlessly along, with no story to them and don’t have any connection to anything. Long discussions about Rob Brydon’s teeth are amusing at first, but eventually become simply tedious. Tristram Shandy is supposedly “unfilmable”. This film certainly doesn’t disprove that, but you feel it could easily have made a much better job of it.

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