Stella Street (2004)

Director:

Peter Richardson

Writers:

Phil Cornwell (writer)
Peter Richardson (writer)

Release Date:

22 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

As the Beatles did in the 1960s, Michael Caine convinces Jack Nicholson, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to move to Stella Street, an unassuming residential area of Surrey. But along with the new neighbors come hoods and thieves, all determined to make off with the stars' cash. Based on the BBC sketch comedy series.

Plot Keywords:

Mick Jagger | Street In Title | Place Name In Title | Madonna

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Phil Cornwell	...	Jack Nicholson / Mick Jagger / Michael Caine / Jimmy Hill / Barry Saddler / Muthatrucker / Len McMonotoney / Vince Crush / Tour Guide / Nick Duggan / Costumier / CNO Bob / David Bowie
John Sessions	...	Mrs. Huggett / Keith Richard / Jeremy Hickman / Joe Pesci / Dean Baraclough / News Reader / Jack Flatley / Johnny Van Damm / Muthatrucker / Lord Tony Stanford / Dustin Hoffman / The Vicar / Policeman / Al Pacino
Ronni Ancona	...	Tara / Madonna / Posh Spice / Penelope Cruz / Jerry Hall / Vicar's Wife / Check-out Girl / Stephanie Giraffe / Jenny Saddler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Saleh Chaudhri	...	Mr. Chundri
Zoofishan Chaudhri	...	Mrs. Chundri
Chickpea	...	Policewoman
Sandra Cush	...	Sally
Gregory Dow	...	Perry (as Gregory Dow)
Guy Green	...	Tourist
Rachel Harrowell	...	Tasha
Dave Haskell	...	Milkman
Ned Richardson	...	Tourist
Sophie Rix	...	Papergirl
Anna Sanczuk	...	Supermarket Checkout Girl
Jack Strong	...	Demon Bowler; Policeman
Daniel Taggart	...	Tom
Fergus Wilkie	...	Estate Agent; Policeman

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some drug material.

Runtime:

UK:80 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Banstead, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Absolutely Productions

Trivia:

The episode of Dirk Bogarde selling his house to prospective David Essex was censored when it was repeated. In the original Dirk gets a bit excited when Essex jumps on his bed. The repeat cut Bogarde's arousal as it was repeated shortly after his death

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Chinatown (1974)

Soundtrack:

KOOCHY KOOLA

Not quite as good as the sketch-like series, but still quite funny for fans

In the 1960's, the Beatles took up residence in a small suburban street starting a minor trend for celebrities moving into the unassuming Stella Street. Decades later, in the 1990's, Michael Caine convinces Jack Nicholson to move into the street, bringing a load of other Hollywood stars to the area including Joe Pesci, Al Pacino and two of the Rolling Stones. However the influx of stars brings burglars, tourists and a criminal plot to rob the stars of all their money.

If you have never seen the 10 minute programmes that make up the series Stella Street, this film version is certainly not the place to start! The rough impressions and rather loose plots and storylines will almost certainly not be to everyone's tastes - a fact that was reflected in the film going straight to video and being screened on the BBC within a week of it being released. Can't understand the logic to that myself - why not just wait a few months at least and keep it quiet, that way at least fans will buy it not knowing it was due to TV.

Anyway, not being a massive fan, I forced myself to wait the week to see it on TV and save myself £15 (nice job BBC - that'll recoup your million investment!). The film manages to do a better job at creating a plot than series three did, but is still a bit episodic until the final 25 minutes where the stars lose their cash. The first 10 minutes will also be quite meaningless for fans as it just sets up the street and why all the stars are there. In some ways the film actually steps backwards as we have Dustin Hoffman moving into Hill's house here where he already had in the series. It still works pretty well though; the characters are funny for the same reasons they were in the series - being juxtapositioned with the English suburb and having their characters and mannerisms exaggerated. If you enjoy the series for what it is then it is likely you will enjoy this film. The plot may not be great but that shouldn't be a problem if you are used to the episodic nature of the series.

The cast (all three of them) are really good. The impressions are never spot on but many of them sound pretty good and the fact that they aren't the actual people is part of the joke! Sessions and Cornwall work together really well and the `shooting from back of head' trick when they are playing two characters in the same scene is not overused or very obvious. The addition of Ancona is important to move the plot forward, but she also gets a few funny parts as Madonna and Posh Spice.

Overall I enjoyed this film but then I have always enjoyed the series. If you are a fan then this will be good enough for you but it is an acquired taste that will likely alienate as many first time viewers as it pleases.