Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
95 mins
Watchable, occasionally engaging romcom with some strong performances but it's neither funny nor romantic enough to really work as a romcom and it's ultimately let down by an unfocussed script and some unlikeable characters.
What's it all about?
Written and directed by brother and sister team David and Jacqui Morris, Mr Right is a gay romcom (or hom-com) about the various relationships of a group of London men. Set and shot within a stone's throw of Old Compton Street, the film is framed by Louise (Georgia Zaris) complaining that she should never have introduced her seemingly perfect (and seemingly straight) boyfriend Paul (Jeremy Edwards) to her gay friends.
However, the film then largely ignores this plot in favour of Louise's friends, primarily Alex (Luke de Woolfson), a caterer-slash-wannabe actor in a relationship with TV producer Harry (James Lance), who's tempted by sometime model Lars (Benjamin Hart), who in turn is the kept boyfriend of successful artist Tom (writer-director David Morris). Meanwhile, ex-rugby player turned antiques dealer William (Rocky Marshall) struggles to balance raising his young daughter Georgia (Maddie Planer) and maintaining his relationship with TV actor Lawrence (Leon Ockenden).
The Good
The performances are something of a mixed bag; Lance and Marshall are both excellent and feel like believable, well rounded characters, whilst Hart, Ockenden and de Woolfson (coincidentally, all playing actors or models) seem like shallow, superficial caricatures and are largely unlikeable as a result.
To be fair, there are a handful of good scenes, such as a central dinner party in which all the main couples break up (observed by a fascinated Paul) or a promising but unexplored sequence in which Alex goes home to his family and is suddenly softer and less petulant.
Similarly, William's story is by far the most interesting in the film but gets frustratingly little screen-time compared to Alex and Harry.
The Bad
The main problem is that the film chooses to focus primarily on Luke de Woolfson, who is simultaneously the worst actor and the least likeable character. The result is that other more engaging plot strands remain underdeveloped or get ignored altogether (Louise and Paul).
Worth seeing?
There's a halfway decent film buried somewhere within Mr Right but it never quite emerges, thanks to an unfocussed script, unlikeable characters and a couple of dodgy performances.