Don't Panic

Jamie Campbell's career as a newsreader is going nowhere so he decides to make a film with Joel Wilson: he doesn't like him, he's just the only person he knows with a camera. They aren't quite sure what to make the film about but then a speech by Tony Blair alerts them to the risk posed to the UK by terrorism. "What if?" they ask themselves and, failing to get a film out of asking each other, they set out to ask more important people. They talk to politicians, witness emergency drills, review how the public is kept informed and try to ascertain if the British Government is really doing enough to protect all our asses should the proverbial hit the fan.

The second film I've seen from Wilson/Campbell starts better than their last one did by actually making me laugh twice in the first few minutes, although I also had the fear of "Osama & US" still inside me, so I couldn't be sure. In fairness to the film, my views may be skewed a bit because the presentation implies that it is meant to be a funny satire like "Mark Thomas-lite™", but the actual product is closer to being light entertainment – sort of political comedy as Ant & Dec would do it. So maybe complaints about it not being sharp enough are just unfair because that is not what they were aiming for – I don't know.

And, frankly, I'm not overly concerned because this is my hour and I want to be entertained, informed and amused – all things that it does want to do. The start of the film is good and does show a strength – a serious frame with sudden moments of off-the-wall humour peaks (eg Campbell's news reading and the text message), however it cannot seem to do this for long and soon the weaknesses creep in. When it works, it works well and for some bits they have edited together serious sections with lighter sections with funny stuff thrown in, or ideas taken to extreme; but then at other times they seem to struggle to be able to judge the moment well enough to keep the mix just right.

They have done a great job at getting access to a couple of reasonably well-known politicians etc but they blow it a couple of times. Witness Beverly Hughes – a well-known face within the Government (or at least she was at the time). She does seem uncomfortable and Campbell does have the air of Paxman about him when the letter comes out, but then it all gets silly with her coming off best during a "three little pigs" analogy. I can see why they tried to do it (it does sound funny), but when it doesn't work then it shouldn't have been used. As with "Osama & US", some of the material is just them annoying people and hoping it looks funny. The ideas are good but whenever they are met with sighs from police etc then it makes them look silly and sucks the inventive/witty energy out of whatever it is they are doing. A shame, because marching on number 10 to politely claim the country on behalf of the US was working until the policeman just sounds so tired that he does make Campbell look like a "silly little boy". This sort of thing is also seen in them yelling at Blair, taking a leak in a field, wasting their question to Paul Bremmer and so on. Again, it is frustrating that when it doesn't work that they still put it in the film, because when it does work it is funny – Campbell trying to find which sport a Muslim fanatic would play with him is good because the guy gets drawn into it where Hughes did not.

The reason the film is still enjoyable as light entertainment is because these moments are at least matched by clever, funny or interesting stuff. The interview with Hughes does have moments; the finding of that letter was a good bit of work paying off; the interview with Michael Brown contrasting the US with us (even though Blair has to match his portrayal of the level of threat with that of Bush); these things were good. It was also wise to let Campbell carry more of the presentation/screen time because he does have an adult air about him and his interviewing style was strong whether kidding around with Alex or probing Hughes. The material he has also manages an overall comic tone, which does help because I felt the film was amusing, and it wasn't till afterwards that I realised I only laughed a few times. Where they get their guest nutters I'll never know, but Alex is a nice comic interlude and the two "fanatics" are easy targets even if they wear the joke a little thin. The interviews on the street are mixed because with some I felt like I was being asked to laugh at this specific person rather than them saying something that the film could use or merge with.

Overall this was quite entertaining and I suppose that that is the main thing, it is just a shame that it the strengths and weaknesses almost act to cancel each other out and we're left with a product that is quite middling on the whole. It's interesting but never really insightful or fascinating (although the "shooting people" comment will stay with me); amusing but never consistently funny; it asks questions but never in a sharp enough manner. The urge to try and be silly at least once in every scene is a big problem because too often it doesn't work and only really does when the subjects get drawn into it and the silly moment is bookended by insightful moments (because then both jobs are done). A big improvement on "Osama & US" though and I was entertained.