"Gangsters, Gamblers and Geezers" (Guardian 23/09/16)

Gangsters, Gamblers and Geezers *

Dir: Amar Adatia, Peter Peralta. With: Amar Adatia, Peter Peralta, Richard Blackwood, Jodie Marsh. 103 mins. Cert: 15
 
Just when you thought tuppenny-ha’penny crime capers had gone into remission… Here’s a dog-eared calling card from writer-director-stars Amar Adatia and Peter Peralta, floating a sub-Harold and Kumar double-act as aggressively horny underdogs incurring MI5 suspicion while striving to pay off landlord Richard Blackwood. It’s aiming for randomness – slurs are offered against Liz from Atomic Kitten’s ladyparts; there’s a crossdressing dwarf – although some constants emerge: threadbare production values, underqualified performers, a failure to filter the amusingly crass from the merely offensive. I’m not calling it inept, but it’s the kind of film where Scotland Yard memos warn of activity by “Al Queda” [sic] – an Iberian torch singer, perhaps? 

Gangsters, Gamblers and Geezers opens in selected cinemas from today.