A Cock and Bull Story

I like Michael Winterbottom and the various types of pies in which he has his film-making fingers. You never know quite what he's going to do next, and that's great. A Cock and Bull Story is a fictional behind-the-scenes look at the making of a film version of the classic 18th-century Laurence Sterne novel The Life And Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and it stars British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

It's a battle of wills, with each of the comic actors trying to upstage one another. It's an amusing look at the film-making process. It's the attempt to film an "unfilmable" book. It's all of these things and more.

I'm not a Steve Coogan fan. Nor am I a fan of Rob Brydon. Indeed, there are very few actors in this film that I particularly like usually. But the film is bigger than any one of its parts.

Would I buy this film on DVD? Probably not, unless I found it at a real bargain price, but it is definitely worth the cost of a rental fee and an hour an a half of your time. Sure, it's no Living In Oblivion, but what is?

Scores
Acting: 13
Story: 12
Direction: 15
Enjoyment: 14
Involvement: 14
Total: 68