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Mindhorn is the name of the late ’80s TV detective played by Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), or so this film would have you believe as… yes, it’s a spoof/comedy!
He plays Richard Thorncroft, the titular has-been British TV actor in the series, and in similar style to Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, must work with the police when a serial killer says that he will *only* speak with Detective Mindhorn, despite the character being a work of fiction.
Set on the Isle of Man, Mindhorn was a show about a character with a Robotic eye that can literally “see the truth”. Unfortunately, after becoming a little too pompous and arrogant, Richard ends up insulting both the Isle of Man and his fellow cast members on the Wogan chat-show, including his on-screen and real life love interest Patricia DeVille (Effie Davies) his Stuntman, (Simon Farnaby) and bit-part costar Peter Easterman (Steve Coogan).
He decides to leave to try and make it big in Hollywood, but 25 years later and he’s balding in a flat in North London and has recently been replaced for an orthopaedic sock advert by John Nettles, much to his chagrin. He is even more jealous that Easterman now fronts a long running spin-off show which has far eclipsed the success of Mindhorn. Richard has an unexpected opportunity to reignite his career, though …
This is the sort of thing that can either work or not, but based on the trailer, it looks a hit. It was the first trailer that showed up in the cinema before Free Fire, and I was cracking up on a regular basis over the two minutes or so it lasted.
Mindhorn is released in the UK on May 5th.
Director: Sean Foley
Writers: Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby
Also stars: Andrea Riseborough, Harriet Walter, Simon Callow, David Schofield, Nicholas Farrell, Tony Way, Richard McCabe
Check out the trailer below and click on the poster for the full-size image.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.