Bana25
Coogan was excellent in this, the whole part with him and his daughter passing away was extremely well done and certainly jerked the heart strings, after watching this I read lots on his life, it was very sad to see his only real love was his daughter and after her nothing replaced her, and he lived a recluse much like Howard Hughes did in his high rise Penthouse, all his money when he died went to distant relatives who now live in his Penthouse rich without a worry in the world, and probably without knowing what went on there. Coogan is a good serious actor, I would like to see him in more things like this, he is a very versatile actor.
robinski34
As with almost all biopics, half the battle with LoL is having an interest (passing or otherwise) in the life and times of the subject, in this case Soho porn purveyor Paul Raymond. To be fair however, there are enough interesting performances to haul the less committed viewer through to the end. The turns by Imogen Poots as Raymond's daughter Debbie and Chris Addison as Men Only boss Tony Power stand out, and it is never difficult to watch Anna Friel, here playing Raymond's wife Jean. Coogan himself is at the centre of everything, however the story almost seems to take place around him, with many events happening to Raymond rather than being driven by him. There are plenty of British thesps to spot, with David Walliams being prominent among them, and the production design deserves high billing for the glorious memories of time and place that it evokes. An amusing diversion, but there are difficult moments, and it's not all fluff and smut, the 18 certificate is deserved for various reasons. In the end, the film is unlikely to live long in the memory.
leonblackwood
Review: This movie starts off well but then it goes downhill once the relationship between Paul Raymond and his daughter gets introduced. The movie focuses on a period in his life more than his legacy, which is a shame because I found him quite interesting. All of the actors put in good performances and I liked the wit that was put into the script, but I did get bored after a while. Steve Coogan played his part well, taking into consideration that he is coming from a comedy background, but I was hoping for a deeper look into the tycoon. It ends without much explanation about what happened to Paul Raymond and his family and I would have like to see some real footage, either on the bonus material on the DVD or even at the end of the movie. I honestly think that the director cold have done much better with such an interesting individual. Disappointing!Round-Up: Judging by the money that this movie had made, audiences obviously didn't like the directors interpretation of Paul Raymond's life. I hadn't heard of him before watching this movie so I found his story quite interesting. I didn't know that Soho had been controlled by one person and how the whole empire started so it was a bit of an eye opener. I would like to see a proper biopic though.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $16,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who like there graphic dramas about Paul Raymond and a period of his life. 3/10
kosmasp
Another reviewer stated, that this is not as engaging as other Steve Coogan and Winterbottom collaborations. I won't comment on that, but try not to think in those categories if you can, because your movie viewing experience will suffer. You shouldn't compare previous works with the newer ones. In this case, Steve Coogan makes an otherwise not very likable character at least interesting. And that is sufficient enough to carry the movie through.At least in my book. Steve Coogan had obviously fun playing this character and it is showing on the screen. Of course there are some usual clichés you get thrown at you, but it's almost impossible making a movie of this size, that is at least a bit commercial, without stepping into them. If you don't mind too much, you will get an entertaining enough movie to pass the time.If the real "Paul Raymond" was half as charming as Steve Coogan in this, than you understand his charm. You also should be aware, that there is a lot of nudity (not really a big surprise considering the theme of the movie).
AD
