A pair of bungling criminals are forced to man a convenience store while
they wait for the safe to open.
Review by
Ren Zelen
Directed by: Keri Collins
Starring: Ray Panthaki, Vicky McClure, Adeel Akhtar, Anthony
Head, Tony Way, Verne Troyer
It has been a long while since I saw a contemporary comedy that actually
made me laugh out loud. I have virtually given up on any mainstream
Hollywood comedy movie managing to raise my spirits, let alone a chuckle.
Most of them are boorish, predictably scripted and stuck in a rut (although
American Television comedy is altogether a different thing).
Imagine my delight then, when an unassuming British indie production managed
to make me chuckle, snort and laugh – and more than once! Rarely has a
recent film been as gleefully silly and totally enjoyable as
Convenience.
Convenience tells the story of two friends, A.J. (Ray Panthaki) and Shaan (Adeel Akhtar), as they find themselves in trouble with
some Russian gangsters. The less than intellectually gifted Shaan has
inadvertently been lured into running up a debt of over £8,000 at a strip
club and has attempted to hide out at his friend A.J's flat. Not a
great idea, and A.J is less than pleased when he finds that he's been
dragged into the mess. The Russians give them 24 hours to come up with the
money...or else…
Meanwhile, in a petrol station convenience store, bored Levi (Vicky McClure) grumbles at her rigid yet gutless boss and grudgingly settles in for the
night shift. As she's clearing up a mess at the back of the store, A.J and
Shaan blunder in to rob the place - their desperate plan to pay off the
debt. Unfortunately for the duo, the real money is shut in a time-locked
safe; their only option is to commandeer the store under the guise of
trainee shop assistants and wait it out till 6am when the time lock
opens.
They take the manager and lone customer as hostages, but things go from bad
to worse as the two men find that stroppy shop assistant Levi is no
pushover. As the night unfolds we're treated to a series of funny skits and
a stream of strange and eccentric customers, punctuated with some poignant
moments and gratifying character development.
At the core of Convenience is a genuinely funny script by
Simon Fantauzzo, energetically directed by Keri Collins and
brought to life by endearingly batty and adept performances. It's good to
see a straight up silly comedy with Asian actors at the helm, supported by
some new British talent and interspersed with charming and ingenious cameos
roles from familiar faces such as Anthony Head and
Verne Troyer.
What the movie may lack in a Hollywood budget it makes up for by being
skilfully written and well-constructed, with many laugh out loud moments.
It's confidently shot, consistently well-paced and complemented by a simple
premise with inventive and well executed skits that keep you engaged,
amused, and even occasionally moved or surprised.
It doesn't say anything overly profound; it doesn't aesthetically
revolutionise the cinematic process, but with its twists, inventive gags,
energetic mugging and relentless one-liners this film packs in a lot -
comedy, action, violence, family conflicts and even a little romance - with
real indie spirit.
This movie is a little gem; if it doesn't become a cult comedy favourite it
will have been robbed! Now, that would be a crime…
Convenience is on Netflix UK
now.