Out on a Limb (2005) User Reviews

really not funny at all

[isaacbenetar · 2/10 · 16 October 2005]

This was such a wasted opportunity. The main character was so weak - what where these silly film makers thinking? Quite a wasted opportunity. Something else also bothered me - but I can't quite put my finger on it - the picture quality seemed off. Maybe I need to watch it again I am wondering what the budget was for this movie? Was it a low budget film or a student project? Something was definitely not right here. I could see the potential here but I think the boat was missed in a big way.

I wanted to laugh in so many places but I was being told to laugh by the direction, but it just didn't hit the right note.

Excellent, for those who like that sort of thing

[hannah-leonard · 10/10 · 19 October 2005]

This is a low budget English film, it was made for £900,000 and yes it does show. But I for one am sick of gloss and special effects and actors who command nine-digit fees. If you want to see a decent independent English film with a mature sense of humour then this is for you. It is a well written, darkly comic take on the entertainment industry. Worth going to see for the opening montage alone which sequences the main character, a celebrity chef's, career through the decades. Very, very funny. If you liked lost in translation, heathers, or anything by the coen brothers, then maybe you'll like this too. One caution though - see the film on a full stomach cause it will make you hungry.

Loved it!

[Edificio · 8/10 · 18 October 2005]

Personally, I really enjoyed this movie and found it extremely funny in parts. The premise is almost bog standard classic British farce (and there is nothing wrong with that at all) and I totally endorse the Woody Allen reference made in another review. This is very cleverly put together with a perfect combination of a very witty script, a good director and some excellent performances.

The ever reliable Henry Goodman is great as the TV chef whilst the always watchable and very underrated Neil Stuke delivers yet another good comedy performance as the leader of the hostage takers.

Summary, as good a low-budget British movie as you will see this year.

Good film. It made me laugh out loud.

[jacky-35 · 8/10 · 26 June 2006]

I enjoyed Out on a Limb - it made me laugh out loud. I felt that the storyline cleverly linked into todays obsession with 'celebrity' and the lengths to which people will go in order to remain in the public eye. (I can no longer watch TV chefs without wondering) It is refreshing to see a film using 'low tech' filming techniques, which in this case created a normal yet off kilter ambiance which suited the English style black humour of the production perfectly. I liked the speeded up time sequences. The direction brought out strong performances from the main actors who delivered. I liked the final sequence which left my friends and I laughing at the end of the DVD. It's always good to end on a laugh. Good film.

Really impressive, funny low budget British comedy

[bobspartacus · 8/10 · 6 August 2005]

I saw this movie a few months ago at a preview at the London offices of Channel 4 - the director was there. the movie is a very witty look at the nature of modern media - using the ubiquitous presence of a TV chef who now finds his career on the slide - as the focal point. It blends this with a "heist gone wrong" scenario - all of which takes place during a dinner party - and a subsequent series of meals. As they eat, the characters find themselves shifting roles - those under siege take over the siege, those who staged the siege want out - and everyone wants to exploit their 15 minutes of fame. It's a clever black comedy - almost a British Woody Allen picture (his later period!) - well acted by a strong cast. It made me laugh - it made me think - and more than anything - it made me recognise. Recommemnded.

the magnificence of "out on a limb"

[jasonhoff · 9/10 · 22 June 2006]

Every so often, aside from the laborious drudgery that the Hollywood's, Bollywood's and now Nollywood's callously discard at we noble consumers like the spent box of Kentucky Drive Thru – there comes something magnificent. Something that simultaneously shakes you like a Tsunami and melts your plasma into a toffee apple. Something that heats up your café olé without you even going into the kitchen.

I am referring to "OUT ON A LIMB". Obviously. Not since Fellini's 8 1/2, have I had the privilege of imbibing myself in such artistry – losing myself in a maze of charismatic characters; prescient prose; dramatic drama and alluring actors. The complexity of the chef, reminds me of Greenaway's stolid 'RICHARD" in his 1989 masterpiece. Though perhaps merged with Nigella Lawson to add a bit of masculinity. I literally drooled all over my Fish McMuffins during the dinner scenes. Absolute brilliance.

Lo, oh lo! Those compassionless scorekeepers - "Film Critics" will have their duplicitous mendacity REVEALED should they not score this film as I do: 9/10. This film should be called "OUT OF THIS WORLD".

the length a TV chef will go to when trying to save his dying TV show

[gjwether · 9/10 · 13 June 2006]

i saw this film at a private screening in London, and was quite overwhelmed at how well the film played out, with a very low or non existent budget, it just goes to show that a low budget. can make the creative mind work in a much more resourceful and not indulgent fashion, which can make the hole thing play even more real and without the flood of commercial propaganda this film is a true jewel in the crown of low budget British films.

the film takes a good look at the length that some ego's will go to stay at the top of there game funny thought provoking and worth two hours of any ones life. hats of to the director, cast, crew and producers.

At last a great British Film

[c-panagi · 8/10 · 2 August 2005]

I do not want to give too much away about this film as it is worth watching not knowing the sequence of the events as the film unfolds.

This black comedy is about a TV chef whose days are numbered and his show is axed by the producers.

He is at the end of his tether about the loss of his show, his celebrity lifestyle and reputation as a chef. What is he to do?

He throws a dinner party an a subsequent events are a combination of tense and tragi-comic action.

The film is carried a long at a steady pace as the characters and plot evolve until the arrival of uninvited guests when the pace becomes frantic.

The excellent work of the director Robert Heath is ably supported by a very strong cast. It was a pleasure to derive such entertainment from a British film

thoroughly enjoyed Out On A limb

[mattsusie · 9/10 · 14 June 2006]

Saw Out On a Limb yesterday on a non-sell through DVD copy and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are not enough strong British comedy films getting through, but this one really deserves a look.Low budget does not have to mean low rent and this film shows that, stylish and confident, making good use of clearly small funding. Also there is often a danger in self referential stories, (the industry does the industry) but Out On A Limb manages to make its take on the entertainment industry really work. Knowing how hard it is to get a film off the ground then even harder to get it out to an audience, I find it ever more frustrating that our choices are limited by distribution cartels. Good British movies like this need a better chance