Hello Ladies - The Movie

British comedians are usually the best at doing comedy. There are so many great talent comedians out there, the list would take forever to write down. But the most legendary people who got me hooked up on british comedy, is of course Monty Python. I don´t know how many times i have seen all their films, and i still keep on laughing until this day. I suppose one of the reason why Monty Pyhton always delivered so many great comedy films, is because they mixed insane subjects into ordinary life problems. And the acting of course, they were all absolutely splendid. If you have not seen Life Of Brian, the greatest religious comedy of all time, you simply have to buy it. This is one of the greatest comedy classics of all time. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have shown themselves to be a great duo, doing 4 really funny comedies together. Shaun Of The Dead is without a doubt one of the greatest horror comedies ever made. Even if The World´s End did not deliver as much classic comedy as their first film, it still had a lot of funny moments. Speaking of British comedians, have anyone of you heard British comedian Stephen Merchant on tv shows like The Ricky Gervais Show, An Idiot Abroad ? You could tell he had a talent for comedy, both on tv shows, but also doing stand up. So when i found out he would be directing a new tv comedy series on HBO, and also be the lead actor, i got really excited. The name of the tv series is Hello Ladies, a fun show about a guy who thinks he have everything, and want to date models, but the truth is he have no idea how to charm women. Stephen Merchant had a great idea for his show and did a great job to deliver a comedy show in my taste, but the audience did not find Hello Ladies, since the rating numbers were very low. Such a shame, because i have seen much worse comedy series than this. Thankfully Stephen Merchant decided that the show should not leave completely, instead he directed this movie, based on the HBO comedy series. Since i enjoyed the tv show, is this film based on the series just as funny as the show, or should they have left the series alone ?

Stuart ( Stephen Merchant ) split up with his girlfriend, and go back into the hunting for the perfect girl. As usual he brings his friend Wade ( Nate Torrence ) and Kives ( Kevin Wiseman ). One night while celebrating his best friend Jessica´s ( Christine Woods ) birthday, he gets a phone call from his ex girlfriend Trudy ( Henrietta Meire ). She is going to visit him in Los Angeles, something he is nervous about. So he decide to impress her, that he have moved on after all these years in a new relationship. Jessica support her friend Stuart, but she left Glenn ( Sean Wing ) because he was not ready for a serious relationship. Stuart still decide to hang out with Glenn, because he have big connections, and can hook him up with models. Glenn introduce Stuart to beautiful model Tatiana ( Stephanie Corneliussen ), and it seems Stuart have impressed her. The day ends with them kissing, and she agree to date him again. Stuart brags about this infront of his male friends, hoping that his ex girlfriend Trudy will be jelaous. As the day comes, Trudy arrives with her boyfriend. They visit Stuart in his home, where he prepared to make them impressed of his Hollywood lifestyle. But Tatiana never shows up, so Stuarts plan is not going very well. He begs Jessica to pretend she is his model girlfriend. She agrees, but she have some demands that he have to accept. The evening continue and Trudy and her boyfriend are impressed of Stuart´s Lifestyle, as they head off to an esclusive party. They even get to see Nicole Kidman there. The image that Staurt just builded up to impress Trudy might look good now, but can this image last much longer ?

To see the characters back as themselves, in a movie format is actually not bad. The strength of tv series Hello Ladies was that you could relate to some of the characters, especially if you grew up being a nerd as myself. In a movie format they have to try and make this work just like the tv series did. It is not as great as the first season, but i still feel that director Stephen Merchant have done a good job bringing the series into a feature film. These guys are still doing the same things that they always do, trying to pick up dates with no luck at all. The feeling of the tv show is here, Stephen Merchant is the biggest reason why this movie adaption works well. He knows how to be a nerd, who think he will get the perfect model girlfriend. I think a lot of nerd guys can relate to him, because be honest, how many guys have not dreamed of beautiful model girls, but reality is something else. You learn eventually that it is not all about the perfect body, it is all about her personality. Something that Stuart have a problem with, so you do get to laugh a lot in some scenes. Especially when he tells a woman he heard singer Bryan Adams can make a woman cum in 30 seconds, when he uses his fingers. I recommend you see the first season ( and only season ) of Hello Ladies, since it was cancelled due to low ratings. Then you will understand more about the characters, and see why they all fit together.. I really like Nate Torrence as the odd friend of Stuart, his body language and comedy timing is great, such a shame we won´t see him again in a second season. Still, as a finish to Hello Ladies, i feel that this is a worthy end. I will watch the first season again, since i found myself enjoying the story of Stuart, the desperate dating hunter. Maybe we will see Stephen Merchant in a cinema soon again, in a new comedy, i have a feeling this british actor have lots more entertainment to give the whole world.

Rating: DDD