Honest (film)
Honest is a black comedy crime film released in 2000. The film was the directorial debut of ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart and starred Peter Facinelli and three members of the British/Canadian girl group All Saints: Melanie Blatt and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton.
Honest | |
---|---|
Directed by | David A. Stewart |
Produced by | Dick Clement Ian La Frenais |
Written by | Dick Clement Ian La Frenais David A. Stewart Karen Lee Street |
Starring | Nicole Appleton Natalie Appleton |
Music by | David A. Stewart |
Cinematography | David Johnson |
Edited by | David Martin |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Pathé |
Release date | 26 May 2000 |
Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom France |
Language | English |
Honest has been called one of the worst films of all time.
Plot
The plot follows the antics of three gun-toting, streetwise, saucy sisters in Swinging London in the late 1960s. The film is most notable for the topless scenes by the Appleton sisters.[1] Blatt and the Appletons also contributed to three songs on the film's soundtrack.
Reception
Honest received unfavourable reviews with one critic remarking, "It is the worst kind of rubbish, the kind that makes you angry you have wasted 105 minutes of your life." Peter Bradshaw noted Honest "subscribes to the usual credulous fictions about the charm, glamour and wit of violent criminals, and leaves out these qualities in spades" and added "However silly and implausible, it would be all right if there was the slightest hint of brio or fun in the script, written by comedy giants Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. But there isn't".[2] The Scottish Daily Record went so far as to state that "This turgid tale of Sixties London isn't just bad - it's quite probably the worst film ever"[3] and added "And Honest is being tipped for a slot in Hollywood's hall of shame, ranked alongside duffs like Waterworld and The Avengers".[3] However, the Sunday Times gave it 4 stars and called it a "cult classic" à la Amazon Women on the Moon. The film was screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[4]
The low budget (£3 million) film flopped in its opening week in the UK, earning only £111,309 on 220 screens.
British film historian I.Q. Hunter, discussing the issue of "What is the worst British film ever made?", listed Honest as one of the candidates for that title.[5]
Cast
- Nicole Appleton - Gerry Chase
- Natalie Appleton - Mandy Chase
- Melanie Blatt - Jo Chase
- Derek Deadman - Night Watchman
- Graham Fletcher-Cook - Market Trader
- Vinny Reed - Stills Photographer
- Naima Belkhiati - Body Painted Girl
- Peter Facinelli - Daniel Wheaton
- Rick Warden - Baz
- Jonathan Cake - Andrew Pryce-Stevens
- Willie Ross - Woodbine
- Annette Badland - Rose
- Corin Redgrave - Duggie Ord
- Matt Bardock - Cedric
References
- "Top 10 Worst Vanity Projects"
- "Honest" Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 26 May 2000. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- "Honest, it's the worst movie ever; All Saints' film debut is holy awful, say critics." The Daily Record, 26 May 2000
- "Festival de Cannes: Honest". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- I. Q Hunter, "From Window Cleaner to Potato Man" in British Comedy Cinema, edited by I.Q. Hunter and Laraine Porter. Routledge, 2012. ISBN 0415666678. (p. 154)
External links
- Honest at IMDb
- Honest at Rotten Tomatoes