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The Ballad of Wallis Island sees the rather eccentric Charles Heath (Tim Key – Mickey 17) – and the biggest fan of former folk rock group McGwyer Mortimer’s Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden – Man Vs Bee) – commissions the singer to come over to this remote island and play a gig for him, which will have a sizeable sum in the form of payment. However, there’s hardly any inhabitants, hence Herb being told the number of punters will be “less than 100”.
British humour is abundant in this film, often along the lines of “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong”, beginning early on with that there’s no harbour for the boat, so on arrival, Herb can’t help but fall into the water, and then there’s quite a walk to Charles’ house, itself, even though Herb’s of the impression that it’ll be a hotel.
As such, his phone is waterlogged, and thus, asks for some rice at the store… but their stock of anything is so small given the tiny population, that while they don’t have rice, they do have… rice pudding as a subsitution.
Herb last had a gig with Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan – Saltburn) in 2008, so it’s quite a surprise to find that Charles has booked her to join him for the gig, although once he’s got over that, he’s less than impressed to find that she’s now married, to Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen – Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest), and he’s also come along for the ride.
I could list many other examples of the comedy in this, but I don’t want to spoil them, since they cracked me up at every turn, but safe to include one more, when Herb’s having to call his agent over how obsessive his fan appears, “This is like Misery. I’m going to wake up with no ankles(!)”
As The Ballad of Wallis Island goes on, it does rather feel like Charles has bought their friendship, and while this film is great, the excesses of his spending does remind me of the awful David Brent film, with Ricky Gervais’ character similarly spending a fortune to get his gigs going – each of which took place no more than 7 miles from his own house, yet he booked a Travelodge or hotel every night. Coincidentally, Tom Basden was also in it, as Brent’s roadie.
Overall, I highly recommend this and as well as being brilliantly funny and regularly, it’s also very sweet in places without being sickly-sweet. You just have to ask yourself… will Tom and Nell’s love be rekindled? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out.
Either way, so far, The Ballad of Wallis Island hasn’t had much promotion from the studio, and after just two showings a day in its first week at my Odeon, it dropped down to one per day for both this and next week. However, I understand it’s from this Friday that it’s also getting some screenings in additional Odeon and Cineworld cinemas, so hopefully, it’s now getting a wider release, as it really deserves it!
It’s also interesting to note that the short film on which this is based, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island – written and starring and Basden and Key, came out in 2007, so it’s taken EIGHTEEN YEARS to bring this one to a full film!
Oh, and that this film not only came out in the US first, but also on Blu-ray and DVD, prior to the UK cinema release!
NOTE: There is NO mid- or post-credits scene.
The Ballad of Wallis Island is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 100 minutes
Release date: May 30th 2025
Studio: Focus Features
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 8/10
Director: James Griffiths
Producers: Steve Coogan, Rupert Majendie
Screenplay: Tom Basden, Tim Key
Based on their short film: The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island
Music: Adem Ilhan
Cast:
Charles Heath: Tim Key
Herb McGwyer: Tom Basden
Nell Mortimer: Carey Mulligan
Amanda: Sian Clifford
Michael: Akemnji Ndifornyen
Peter: Steve Marsh
Marcus: Luka Downie
Marie: Kerrie Thomason
Tour guide: Arron Long (uncredited)
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.