Vacuuming Completely
Nude In Paradise
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Telefilm: B-
Though made for the BBC, Danny Boyle saw his 2001
low-budget film Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise get a limited
theatrical release. Recovering from the
commercial (and critical) disappointment of The Beach with Leonardo
DiCaprio (which many thought of as a Mosquito Coast rehash), Boyle did
something much more characteristic and is back in quirky form, at least.
Timothy Spall and Michael Begley are senior and junior
salesmen who are on the road to get vacuums sold, but Spall is getting tired of
the grind and new younger competition he sees (correctly to an extent) as not
as good or skilled as he is. Begley is
paired with him and does not seem as annoying as the others he could have
landed up with, but that does not make all peaceful. Spall’s Tommy Rag is about to go over his unethical edge and
Begley’s Pete is a young, wet behind the ears guys with anxieties of his own in
relation to money, sex and his future.
Rag’s fantasies show he is desperate to look for a better future quick
before its too late.
So, Boyle was back to his quirky style, the film has some
funny moments, but there is still as sense of repetition and predictability,
including the ideas of people going nowhere since they loose the wealthy,
opportunity or ideas that might help them make it. There always seems to be a robbery somewhere, but it seems more
desperate than funny. Vacuuming
Completely Nude In Paradise offers nothing we haven’t seen before, even as
good as Spall is, but fans who like Boyle should be pleased enough.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a wreck,
looking as if it were shot on video and has image degrading problems inherent
in the original materials. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 AC-3 remix is a bit better than the 2.0 Stereo version, but there
is hardly any surround information on either and you can tell the audio was
conceived for TV. The only extra is a
photo gallery.
- Nicholas Sheffo
