DVD Review: ANUVAHOOD

Announcing itself as the first "urban comedy" from the UK, Anuvahood aims to knock the stuffing out of bleak dramas set in housing estates, movies like Kidulthood, in which triple-threat talent Adam Deacon previously appeared.

Deacon, who co-wrote the script with Michael Vu and co-directed with Daniel Toland, stars as Kenneth, a ne'er do well who has pretensions of being "a bad man" in his neighborhood and dreams of fame in the music world. But he's not as tough as he likes to pretend, as the opening scene -- where he's flattened by a single punch from an authentic "bad man" -- amply demonstrates. Angry and embarrassed, he quits his job at a grocery store and storms off.

He's quickly brought back down to earth, however, when he learns none of the "Feel the Pain" CDs he put on consignment at a local music shop sold. Adding insult to injury, his mother Pauline (Linda Robson) loudly begins listing down all his failings as soon as he arrives home, starting with 'you moron!' before proceeding to "you haven't even lost your virginity, have you?" and concluding with 'fucking prick.'

Kenneth, or "K" as he prefers to be called, hangs out with his neighborhood boys -- T.J. (Jazzie Zonzolo), Bookie (Femi Oyeniran), and Lesoi (Michael Vu) -- along with newly-arrived Spanish exchange student Enrique (Ollie Barbieri), whom he welcomes easily into his inner circle. They get terrorized, almost like clockwork, by Tyrone (Richie Campbell), a muscular, fast-talking, hyperactive bully who acts as the de facto overlord of the estate.

Kenneth hangs with his boys, smokes dope, and puts on airs about being "responsible" until it finally comes home to him that his family is in deep financial trouble and he needs to do something. So he starts to sell weed, which provides enough plot machinations to keep the movie pumping to a climactic confrontation.

Anuvahood is refreshing in its premise, and Deacon is a promising talent, but for someone like me who doesn't understand the cultural references or the extensive amount of slang, much of the comedy falls flat. (It may be akin to deciphering the linguistic element of Stephen Chow's mo lei tau nonsensical brand of comedy.) Also, the comedy is pitched at an exceedingly broad level, exemplified by the truly awful "Spanish" accent offered up by Ollie Barbieri -- he sounds like someone doing a bad imitation of Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy -- and the performance by Richie Campbell as Tyrone, which pushes far beyond caricature into the realm of extreme annoyance.

At the same time, the neighborhood feeling captured by Deacon and his collaborators is lovely to see, as is the warmly welcoming multicultural atmosphere. And, occasionally, there are moments of true inspiration, as when Kenneth is goaded into approaching an impossibly beautiful woman who happens to be walking by the estate. His shy, earnest, "nice" manner appeals to her, and she asks for his number. Taken by surprise, Kenneth reverts to form, retreating back into his patently phony "bad man" persona, which turns off the woman, to his surprise. Before it can sink in, Tyrone zooms up in his car for an extended sequence of shtick.

If Deacon can string together more moments of self-realization and easily-relatable drama like that, he could be onto something that would transcend the broad comedy and cartoonish caricatures, and maybe even tie it all together, as opposed to saving it all for a brief epilogue. Of course, if you have an ear for the language and accents, and enjoy this particular brand of humor, you may want to check it out as a refreshing change of pace.

Anuvahood is out this week on Region 1 DVD.