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Dom Robinson reviews
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 078 077 2
- Running time: 86 minutes
- Year: 1999
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, 4 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 20 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £17.99
- Extras: Trailers, Arse-Ups, DVD-ROM game, Making-of documentary
Director:
- Adrian Edmondson
(Guest House Paradiso, TV: Mirrorball)
Producer:
- Phil McIntyre
Screenplay:
- Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall
Original Score :
- Colin Towns
Cast :
- Richard Twat: Rik Mayall
Edward Elizabeth Ndingombaba: Adrian Edmondson
Gino Bolognese: Vincent Cassel
Gina Carbonara: Helene Mahieu
Mr Johnson: Bill Nighy
Ms Hardy: Kate Ashfield
Mrs Foxfur: Fenella Fielding
Mr Nice: Simon Pegg
Mrs Nice: Lisa Palfrey
Chef: Steven O’Donnell
Violence and bad language come to the fore for Guest House Paradiso and any kind of plot is rather superfluous because it carries on the themes from the TV series Bottom which was for the principal characters to beat each other up, for Eddie to get pissed as a fart and Richie to wank endlessly because he’s the only man in the world never to get a shag. A slight change of character names had to be done because Richard Richard and Eddie Hitler were shot dead by the SAS in the last episode.
Step forward, then, Richard Twat (pronounced ‘Thwaite’) (Rik Mayall) and Edward Elizabeth Ndingombaba (Adrian Edmondson), which of course is shortened to Richie and Eddie, except when someone takes the excuse to call the former a ‘Twat’.
They run the Guest House Paradiso, the cheapest hotel in the UK which makes Fawlty Towers look like a palace. Guests come and stay, but not for long and rarely leave having paid since they’re usually frightened out of the joint and that’s if they haven’t been hurt or maimed first.
The guests, in order of embarrassment, are Mr Johnson (Bill Nighy) and Ms Hardy (Kate Ashfield) who witness what happens when breakfast is being cooked, or not because the chef (Steven O’Donnell) is always drunk and eating instead of doing any work, but that’s nothing compared to Richie hitting Eddie with a milk can, Eddie returning the favour with a fire extinguisher, both of them bashing the other into the fridge door and the time when Richie becomes the reluctant recipient of a pencil in his posterior.
Mrs Foxfur (Fenella Fielding) is the token eternal hotel guest, Mr and Mrs Nice (Simon Pegg, from Channel 4’s Spaced, accompanied by Lisa Palfrey) have secret, sexy shenanigans planned, plus a nipple ring experience that’s definitely unplanned, there’s an appearance from the famous film star Gina Carbonara (Helene Mahieu, only famous for her Renault Clio “Size matters” adverts) although she’s followed by her angry boyfriend Gino Bolognese (Vincent Cassel).
Elsewhere in the film, Richie encounters the saucy wood nymphs and gets trapped in the over, Eddie holds a late-night lock-in that doesn’t bode well and they both feed their guests poisonous fish, resulting in everyone being sick Exorcist-style.
The Bottom TV series was a 10/10 for me and the only reason this film loses a point is because, as with most film versions of TV programmes, you have to give the audience even the slightest rest from the madness or spin some sketches out longer than you would do on TV. However, it’s still essential viewing for any fan.
The back of the box has a few errors, most notably that the ratio is not cropped to 1.85:1, but is in the original 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Edmondson, as director, has chosen a strange filming technique which occasionally screws with the geometry and makes people look a bit thinner than normal – and no, it wasn’t me messing about with the telly! It does work though, but there are a few print flecks and a lack of sharpness which mars the image a bit. The average bitrate is a high 5.79Mb/s, briefly peaking over 8Mb/s.
The sound is not plain Dolby Surround, as the box says, but Dolby Digital 5.1, thankfully. It rarely uses split-surround effects, mostly taking the opportunity to lay it on with a trowel in yer face and from the front speakers. Expect lots of sound FX of a violent nature.
In the extras dept, there are three Trailers, each taking in a different film style which makes a chance from the usual presentation of samey trailers. No less than SIXTEEN out-takes clips are included, but the section is labelled Arse-Ups.
A 36-minute Making-of documentary is here with interviews with the cast and crew, also looking at the many stunts in the film. Finally, there’s an excellent little DVD-ROM game for PCs and Macs in which you can recreate part of the kitchen fight between Eddie and Richie.
There are 20 chapters to the film which is fine, English subtitles for the hard of hearing and excellent animated menus with sound, containing clips from the film that highlight the bitter rivalry between Richard and Eddie.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL 
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.