Beginners Luck review

Based on a true story, Beginner's Luck follows a group of no-talent no-hopers thrown together by a desire to win fame and fortune through performing Shakespeare's The Tempest. Driven to distraction by their egotistical luvvie director Mark (James Callis), this rag-tag bunch of wannabes, depressives and flakes perform in the basement of a strip club, an Edinburgh Indian restaurant and, finally, an art gallery in Paris...

It's hard to find much to like about Beginner's Luck. The directorial debut of Callis and Nick Cohen, it has one truly funny moment - a bizarre piece of street theatre in the centre of Paris is good for a chuckle - but all of the characters are either unpleasant or dull. So unpleasant or dull, in fact, that you won't give a damn if they succeed or fail. Plus, while you admire their no-budget pluck, jarring changes of film stock don't help make it any more enjoyable. It may be a labour of love for the makers, but it's love's labours lost for everyone else.