DailyView: Day 305, Movie 431

I found a comedy on Netflix this morning, a British independent comedy, that sounded like fun.

Mindhorn is the story of a fading television star from the 1980s, Richard Thorncroft, desperately trying to cling to what little fame he still had. He had starred on a TV show called Mindhorn where Richard played Detective Bruce Mindhorn, a detective with a cybernetic eye (that was a lie detector). Twenty-five years later, Richard’s star had faded.

However, police contacted him because there was an escaped lunatic, Paul Melly (Russell Tovey) who believed Mindhorn was real and he would only speak to him. Police contacted Richard with the hope that he could keep Paul on the phone long enough for them to get a trace. Unfortunately, things went awry.

Richard found himself in a complicated story with a murder, his old flame and ex-co-star Patricia (Essie Davis), and a videotape that showed that Melly was innocent.

This is one of those films where the lead character was a bumbling idiot and stumbled through the plot with comedic results. We have seen this kind of character several times, and it does feel familiar. It is very British comedy and it works. Some of other films that would have this type of character would depend on sophomoric jokes, but those are limited and fit in when used.

Mindhorn is silly, but it worked well. You connected to the character and forgive the ridiculousness of the character. Mindhorn was funny, especially if you are a fan of British humor. It was a nice treat on Netflix.