rcmead-25983
Ben Willbond's Philip of Spain is a genius comic creation. It's worth watching the film for him alone but on top of that it's a great film with plenty of classic moments and obscure references stuffed into it. A Python-esque comedy in the silliest English tradition.
David Allen
Can't help but feel that the motivation for making this was Shakespeare's anniversary rather than the strength of the storyline.The ensemble cast are excellent in Horrible Histories and I enjoy their individual comedy outings too. This is not in the same vein. It raises a chuckle but is not a comedy, and it is not a family film either. It has the whiff of an exercise in ticking boxes.There is a strand of a plot in there, but a lot of it becomes muddled and there is an unnecessarily juvenile aspect to some of the humour. VReminds me a little too much of the sixth-form common room. Production values are good, as are the performances. But it is essentially forgettable, whereas Horrible Histories is a work of genius.
Tony Strumley
What a marvellous and magnificent film - fun for all the family. We went last weekend in a big family group, and everyone from 8 to 80 loved it.Bill is funny, moving, hysterical, silly and warm-hearted - something for everyone!Only some of us knew the performers from Horrible Histories and Yonderland, but they played their multiple roles to perfection. Particular favourites were Lope and Bill for the kids, King Phillip for the ladies, and the Earl of Croydon and Juan for everyone. Particular mention for Simon Farnaby, who is just wonderful in every role he plays - fans will remember his priceless museum guard in Paddington. His cameo as 'Sausage Man' will live long in the memory,I couldn't recommend a film more strongly. Best British film this year. We'd read a 4 star review in The Sun which called Bill "the funniest film this year" - couldn't agree more!
littlewritingmachine
Anyone who has studied history, and that's just about everyone, will find something to enjoy in Bill, a big screen leap for the popular TV team that expands the scope of the show without letting go of the good humour and wit beloved by millions.Taking a cue from Shakespeare in Love, but playing the idea of the Bard's formative years in a very different way, Bill features Mathew Bayton as the young playwright, seeking his fortune in London and falling under the wing of Christopher Marlowe (Jim Howick). The historical aspect is brought to the fore as King Phillip II (Ben Willbond) concocts a scheme to eliminate Queen Elizabeth I (Helen McCrory) by gunpowder, with Bill's first play giving him a pretext to carry out his plan. Bill's excitement about seeing his work brought to the stage is tempered by a dawning realisation that he's only a pawn in a bigger political game.Bill might well work for worldwide audiences as a cheerful parody of Shakespeare in Love, but has its own sense of comic invention. It's refreshing to see a British film with such spirited performances, with Willbond sporting several moustaches at once and his co-writer Laurence Rickard superbly deadpan as the violently anti-Catholic Walsingham. Bill never dumbs down history, but reflects it through amusingly modern updates; the castle security go to Code Woad when the believe there's a high risk of attack, and Phillip's men are subject to a search by a decidedly modern customs officer. Damien Lewis has a brief but amusing cameo, and all the performers are on point; you can tell that they've got confidence in the material, and they wring every possible laugh from it. Sneaking into cinemas with barely a breath of publicity, Bill should find a wide and appreciative audience once it finds a home on the small screen; carefully plotted and with genuine wit behind the gags, it's the best British comedy of the year. That may not be saying much, given that big-screen comedy is seemingly a lost art, but Bill is just the thing to put a rare smile on the faces of adults and children alike.
AD
