Director Ed Bye
Script Harry Enfield, David Cummings
Stars Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans, James Fleet, Laura Fraser
Certificate 15
Running time 101 mins
Made UK, 1999

Feature: Brit comedy goes large

Kevin The Teenager (Harry Enfield) still lives at home. His catch phrases -- "That is SO unfair" and "I am NOT your slave" -- embody the dysfunctional relationship he has with his parents. He may whinge and whine, but he's not a rebel.

Perry His Friend (Kathy Burke) walks like a penguin in nondescript baggies, grooves to a rhythm only he picks up and grins. Innocence is a virtue with him. He doesn't hate. He follows the lead and talks of "doing it", as if he knows. Without Perry's enthusiasm, Kevin wouldn't budge from his bed.

This unwashed comedy infiltrates the mastabatory dream life of an apathetic schoolboy, while tagging on to Kev's holiday in Ibiza, accompanied by mum, dad and best pal, Perry.

The adults rejuvenate their sex life, much to the horror of their sole progeny, while "Ginger Pubes and Sad Act" -- so named by resident mix master club DJ (Rhys Ifans) -- attempt to meet girls ("Let's go and stand next to them") and violate their virginal status with acts of unparalleled debauchery.

Enfield's style is a long way from Mike Myers and Wayne's World. His mock amateur Englishness that emphasises ineptitude over calculated crassness is the charm of it. Once attuned to turd, erection and pus jokes, the world of Kevin & Perry has a misplaced sweetness that warms the cockles, rather that splits the gut.

The Wolf