ROBOTICS FOR DUMMIES (BRIAN AND CHARLES)

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'Brian and Charles' is the quirky British buddy comedy you never realised you needed.

Set in north Wales, it is one of those underdog films that Britain does very well, with bucket loads of humour and plenty of warmth and charm.

A mockumentary, one of the writers David Earl takes a character he has played on several shows, including Ricky Gervais's Netflix sitcom 'After Life' and transplants him into a tale set in an isolated rural community.

Earl's hoarder Brian Gittins is a lonely eccentric.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

Living in a ramshackle farmhouse, he fancies himself as a bit of an inventor.

A sweet natured soul, using his DIY skills he has tried to invent a flying cuckoo clock, an egg belt and a pinecone bag in a cowshed he shares with a mouse and which he christens the "infamous inventions pantry".

Scouring a local dump for any waste he can use, Brian comes across the head of a shop dummy and decides he will make a robot with a washing machine for a torso.

Working away on the robot, Brian looks destined for another failure when a thunderstorm comes and like 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein' or Carlo Collodi's 'Pinocchio,' his creation suddenly sparks into life.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

Earl's co-creator Chris Hayward plays the robot who Brian has given a wig and glasses and who wears cardigans, resulting in him resembling a middle aged academic.

On his first night, the artificially intelligent robot, who shuffles around like the Tin Man in 'The Wizard of Oz,' devours information from the dictionary while Brian sleeps.

Wishing to be called Charles Petrescu, he is able to spout information he has consumed from the book.

Elated by what he has done and also a little scared, Brian decides to keep the often childlike Charles a secret from his neighbours in the village.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

However you suspect Brian is doing this because he now has company and is afraid it will be taken away from him.

This is where 'Brian and Charles' starts to get really absurd.

Hungry for knowledge, Charles is intrigued, like Pinocchio, to understand what the world is like beyond the farmhouse.

Reluctantly driving the robot into the village to keep him mollified, Brian insists on Charles remaining in his van while he runs an errand.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

While Brian is getting the groceries, Louise Brealey's introverted local woman Hazel whose mum Brian does odd jobs for spots his van.

Hazel subsequently stumbles upon Charles and is stunned and impressed by Brian's invention.

Returning to the van and realising his creation has been rumbled, Brian is anxious for Hazel to keep it a secret.

However on returning to the farm, Charles begins to adopt the traits of a stroppy teenager.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

He wants to see more of the world and huffs because he thinks Brian is being unnecessarily over-protective.

When Charles ventures more into the village, this brings him into the radar of Lowri and Mari Izzard's twins Katrina and Suki from a local family of ne'er-do-wells.

Headed by Jamie Michie's Eddie and Nina Sosanya's Pam, this family starts to take an unhealthy interest in Charles.

Eddie, who often belittles Brian in the local shop, turns up at the farm insisting on buying Charles for a ridiculously low price.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

When Brian refuses, he shoves him to the ground.

You just know Eddie will return and try to take Charles for himself, with the intention of destroying him.

Will Eddie steal Brian's creation?

Can Brian prevent him?

Will romance blossom between him and Hazel?

Will Charles fulfil his dream of seeing the world?

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

'Brian and Charles' is a wonderfully sweet, absurdist comedy that the whole family can enjoy.

Children will be charmed by the madcap inventions of Brian and the endearing innocence of Charles.

Adults will be amused by Charles' plummy middle aged voice and the way he transforms into a stroppy teen.

The success of Jim Archer's film hinges on Earl and Hayward's performances and they really rise to the occasion.

© Film 4, Focus Features, Universal Pictures

In addition to 'After Life,' Earl has played variations of the Brian Gittins character before in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's 2010 comedy drama 'Cemetery Junction,' on a Channel 4 sitcom pilot, in a 2017 short film and on the 'Brian Gittins and Friends' podcast.

He has well honed the eccentricity and scruffiness of the character but he has thankfully jettisoned the uncomfortable crudity of Gittins in Gervais' Netflix sitcom.

This is a smart move, making Brian much more endearing and enabling him to appeal to a much wider demographic.

Hayward complements Earl as Charles, shuffling around the screen in the square body of a middle aged mannequin but exhibiting childlike innocence in his plummy voice.

© Film 4, Focus Features and Universal Pictures

It is a charming and clever comedy performance that may lead some people to recall the obscure 1970s ABC American robot detective series 'Holmes and Yoyo'.

Brealey is wonderfully sweet as Brian's mild mannered love interest Hazel.

Michie, Sosanya and the Izzard twins amuse as the local problem family who like to throw their weight around the village and play a huge part in the film's appeal.

In a world that has been gripped in recent times by tensions around COVID, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, toxic culture wars and meanness about public figures, it is good to see a film where sweet nature and kindness are virtues.

In that respect, 'Brian and Charles' is just the tonic we need.

© Film 4, Focus Features and Universal Pictures

Directed in an unfussy manner by Jim Archer, it makes great use of its damp, bleak, early winter setting.

It's also a real 90 minute crowd pleaser that deserves a much wider audience than it initially got when it was released in cinemas.

Archer's film has significantly more gags that land than most Hollywood comedies and it may well become a family favourite if it is discovered on streaming platforms or on Film 4.

If it does, there's scope for an endearing follow-up.

But even if it doesn't get a sequel, Archer, Earl and Hayward should feel reassured that they have created a film that is a real joy to watch from the first frame to the last closing credit.

('Brian and Charles' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on July 8, 2022)

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