The Fruit Machine (1988) User Reviews

I remember this as being better than it seems now.

[ib011f9545i · 6/10 · 11 September 2018]

No plot spoilers. I saw this on tv when it was made,1988? Younger viewers might be surprised that Channel 4 used to make some great dramas as well as some awful ones. Now it shows reality crap and horse racing.

I recall liking and being a bit shocked when I saw this. There is not a lot to the story but it is a trip back to the 1980s I suppose. I had looked for a long time for the dvd and am a bit disappointed that I did not enjoy watching the film more than I did

Apples and Oranges

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 August 2020]

The Fruit Machine is a tender and loving film about a pair of gay male teens from Liverpool. But if the pejorative of fruit is to describe them, than they are as different as apples and oranges.

Emile Charles is an effete biracial sixteen year old who likes nothing more than watching old flickswith his mom at home. Tony Forsyth is a street wise rent bpy and that's redundancy because if you aren't street wise you won't last long as a rent boy. Forsyth has to do a lot looking out for Charles.

Never more so when they witness a murder at a gay club of its drag queen owner with a machete. They flee to Brighton and have some further adventures there.

The boys are a pair of finely scripted characters fleshed out nicely with good performances and direction. In the supporting cast noe Robbie Coltrane as the lckless club owner.

One good gay themed film that has held up well since the 80s,

"You think you're a man"

[afhick · 9/10 · 12 September 2006]

The film "Wonderland" (aka "The FruitMachine") is a surprisingly dippy, imaginative romp involving two gay teenaged boys who happen to witness a gangland murder and are forced to flee Liverpool for Brighton. The film takes many inventive turns, several of which involve Eddie's dream lover, a man-dolphin hybrid who actually appears at crucial moments in the film to save Eddie and his partner, Michael. There are many subplots and colorful supporting characters, and the ending, albeit sad, is inevitable. It's worth it if only for the dance sequence at the Fruit Machine, a gay showbar in Liverpool, in which Michael competes for thirty quid. His dance is both erotic and touchingly naive. Both boys, Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth, should have had big careers in film. Apart from one distracting editing lapse that blunts the finale, this is a superior film, in that it refuses to indulge in stereotyping and doesn't condescend to its lead characters.

Beautiful Thing meets Halloween meets Romeo and Juliet

[Havan_IronOak · 8/10 · 4 August 2002]

This odd movie tells the tale of two gay boys in the UK who witness a murder and are then pursued by the killer who wants to leave no witnesses.

Eddie is somewhat effeminate and likes to spend his time with his mother watching old romantic movies on the telly and retouching her roots while she tells him tales of how she was almost a star. Eddie is a dreamer and sometimes even has visions. He also has an abusive Dad who doesn't want a `poofter' for a son.

Michael is a beautiful rent boy living on the streets after escaping from a youth detention center. Everyone wants him but it's for only one thing.

Somehow the two boys have met up and become best mates. When Eddie decides to run away from home and the abusive father, Michael swears to take care of him. And so the boys begin their adventures, first in gay nightclub called the Fruit Machine and then later in Brighton accompanied by a retiring opera tenor. In Brighton, Eddie visits Wonderland a seaside aquarium with a trained dolphin show. There he meets a girl animal rights advocate and Eddie becomes obsessed with setting the dolphins free. Meanwhile Michael is `paying the rent' with the tenor using the only currency that he has. Unfortunately the killer has followed them to Brighton.

There is a very touching love story here between the two boys and I wanted to know more. How did they meet and become friends? What have they said to each other about their mutual attraction? One can intuit a lot from what is shown but there could have been so much more. Is Eddie still a virgin? How much does he know about how Michael supports himself? Has he never made an attempt to get physical with Michael because he knows?

This movie seemed to me to be two movies uncomfortably joined into one. The whole `pursued by a killer' plotline seemed to have been grafted onto the main story, perhaps to make it more palatable to the general public and hence more commercial. As far as I'm concerned they needn't have bothered. The story of the relationship between the two boys was more than enough and the sporadic appearance of the killer was a jolting distraction to the story I was really interested in.

A sad fairy tale

[major-3 · 15 February 1999]

Do you remember the line "I depend on the kindness of strangers"? Well, of course it is from Tennessee Williams‚ "A Streetcar Named Desire‘, and sums up the meaning of the whole play. As it does sum up the meaning of this film. It's about the fight of imagination and reality – and again reality wins. Or so it seems.

If this film has any flaw it's the crime story woven around its center. The gay-hating killer seems an overused cliché nowadays but at the time of the film's production it was probably more than a symbol.

Nevertheless, the film moves – at least me – even a decade after it was made. If not a masterpiece, at least a very, very good film.

The Fruit Machine, A Ride back to the 80's

[plumbweiss · 10/10 · 13 November 2005]

Filmed in 1988, this film will be a trip down memory lane for those guys who 'came out' in the 1980's, a time when gay clubs played stock-aitken-waterman, were all neon and mirror-balls and a knock-to-enter door policy.

It's a sort of road-movie, as two gay best friends end up on the run after witnessing a murder at their local liverpool gay club, one of them spends his time with his head in the clouds, the other has to secretly hustle men (and women) to earn them money to survive.

If you're a romantic, the film will hit the spot, the two leads are played with a charming naiveté and the villains are pure evil camp. Good music, Robbie Coltrane in a frock, good acting, atmosphere and direction. My only gripe is that my VHS copy combined with what appears to be 16mm cine gives a rather grainy picture.

Brilliant

[markrobnolan · 8/10 · 4 July 2011]

Reminds me of my own youth in similar circumstances and reminds me of the scrapes I got in to with my late best friend, in the late 80s in the North of England. Ignore the stereotypes...sometimes the stereotypes actually exist, you know. Brilliant.

The characters are well drawn and the dream sequences add some mysticism. Whilst the plot is a little crazy its a genuine,sad and heartwarming tragedy, which in view of the lack of a big Hollywood style budget, for me at least, is something that cheap British films excel at. Well done. Its s ashame most of the young actors did not develop their careers, but looking back on such films it only adds to the importance of it for me.

A wonderful example of fine British film making.

[jasonshaw-331-946707 · 8/10 · 31 March 2012]

A beautiful, powerful and very much underrated British gritty gay thriller from the late 80's, released in the UK as The Fruit Machine and in the US as Wonderland. It is passionate, resolute, beautifully directed, filmed and played that I would have thought it would have been higher in the book Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time than the ranking it was given.

The Fruit Machine is a wonderful and poignant tale of growing up, it combines the rite of passage, buddy flick with a road movie genres in perfect symmetry and also shoves in a bit of a thriller just for the sake of it. BAFTA winner Philip Saville directs Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth as Eddie and Michael, two gay mates on the very brink of adulthood as they head into the adventure of their lives. These two friends may both be gay but their sexuality is the only thing they seem to have in common. In all other respects, they are as different as the proverbial chalk and cheese, Eddie is soft, gentle, sensitive and fragile. He adores nothing more than watching old classic black and white movies with his mum. Michael is much more streetwise, tough, manly and loves video games.

The story then follows them as they head away from the mean inner city streets and enjoy the wonderful seaside exuberant Brighton! Its so lovely, wonderfully made, easy to view, moving whilst also being funny.

Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

Classic Coming of Age Movie

[scottca075 · 8/10 · 28 August 2002]

Two gays teens on the run after seeing a brutal murder. It deals with homosexuality, racism, friendship & love.... and handles them all well, what more could ask from a movie! The acting is sincere, the directing well paced. Overall this is a very entertaining movie

The Power of Payne

[PaulaKaye18 · 8/10 · 13 August 1999]

After viewing "Silence Like Glass", I was fascinated by the strength of Mr. Payne's performance and wanted to discover his "film roots". The closest I could get to, (until I saw "Privates on Parade"), was "The Fruit Machine", or as its known by me, "Wonderland". Mr. Payne's "Echo" leaves ripples in his wake...

Stupid and boring

[liderc · 27 April 2000]

The idea of the story is not bad, but the use of stereotypes (Edie behaves very effeminate, the people in the man only bar too) only makes this movie painful to watch. The only character I liked was Michael, since he behaves like a normal boy (and is sexy too...)

Totally forgotten, but happy to see it again!

[heratyplant · 8/10 · 23 July 2022]

Firstly I'd like to thank the nice folks over at Networkonair (Network Distributing) who own the film & for streaming it free on their site. I occasionally buy DVD's of old TV shows from them & came across this film, totally forgetting that I'd seen when it was originally released. I'm the same age as Emile Charles, I also worked at Heaven in London when we had 'Fruit Machine' on Wednesday's. So whilst I didn't run away from Liverpool being chased by a psycho killer whilst swimming with the dolphins, I really identify with the period & coming of age elements of this happy & sad love story.

Your enjoyment of the film may come from reliving your youth through the early part of the film, it's a lovely 80's time capsule, but the story also skips along, only occasionally dropping it's pace, but picking up again minutes later. All of the performances are solid & entertaining, I remember not liking 'Eddie' at the time, fearing the fem, but now I see a lovely light portrayal of a young gay boy, just being who he wants to be. Michael, Eddie's light-fingered friend (& the obligatory for the time) unrequited love, is well handled by Tony Forsyth, in the is he, isn't he role. The pair have a great chemistry & you root for them until the end.

The story & plot has it's ups & downs, and as the writer was determined to have a tragic ending, we have a hitman, taking out the wonderful Robbie Coltrane early in. That's fine, many a plot is pushed along by such an event, but our hitman just happens to be a psycho karate nutjob hitman in eyeliner, played by the ever underrated Bruce Payne. This stretches the reality of the film at points & in ways that were totally unnecessary & which I feel detracts from the overall intent of the film. A tragic romantic ending could've been achieved in far more realistic ways. The pair, cadging a lift & place to sleep with a famous opera singer, again stretches believability, but it gets the boys in the predicaments that the plot requires & although it goes no where, I guess that's just life sometimes!

Today, a teenage boy swooning over a handsome man in his dreams might almost be common place, then, it was unheard of, no one would do it. Here, Eddie's dreams are wonderfully brought to the screen & heart-stoppingly so with the dreamy Carsten Norgaard. Carsten also does a great job of transforming into a dolphin, in a really rather beautiful underwater love scene, the likes of which you will rarely see in any film, let alone one of this small budget stature. All of the water scenes, real & fantasy are very well done & lift the film to another level.

Special note - in possibly one of its final ever appearances on screen, before it fell into the sea, the majestically dilapidated West Pier is the backdrop for the final scenes, heartbreaking that it wasn't saved! As it crumbles & fades in the background, so does Eddie & the chance of happiness between him & Michael, but he's freed from life's miseries as is the dolphin, rescuing Michael in a last goodbye, or was it Eddie, saving his love before he swims away?!

If you love the 80's, if you love an unconventional romance, if you love a bit of camp & if you love dolphins, you'll pretty much love Fruit Machine.

Adrian Cleave Would Have Done It Better

[katya-16 · 19 September 2000]

Although the story behind the two run away gay teenagers was a good idea I must strongly point out that the acting could have been far better.

One person for the role of Eddie could be Adrian Cleave who is known for his work in the play "the decider" which won staggering reviews in London.

The story does have a sad ending although the film makers could have added more depth to the assassin who chases the boys through out the film.