Hopeless (2000)

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Director:

Stephen Hickey

Writers:

Stephen Hickey, Sean Molloy

Stars:

Phil Pinner, Mia Taumoepeau, Adam Gardiner

Cast

Credited cast:
Phil Pinner	...	Ben
Mia Taumoepeau	...	Maryann
Adam Gardiner	...	Richard
Scott Wills	...	Phil
Erica Lowe	...	Wendy
Anthony Johnston	...	Iain
Lydia Harris	...	Trish
Sally Stockwell	...	Aleo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mia Blake	...	Maryann

Storyline

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kahukura Productions, New Zealand Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Genuinely funny

I wasn't sure about this movie, and I took a long time to getting around to seeing it. I shouldn't have worried; it's a consistently entertaining, and often hilarious, movie.

It was also nice to see a movie that's recognizably set in Wellington.

The tv series that spins off from Hopeless, called Love Bites, isn't bad, but it's sabotaged by changes made to the characters to soften them. They are played by the same actors, and many of the episodes are written by the same creative team who made the movie, so I can only assume it was due to studio interference. Shame really; I would have loved to have seen a genuine continuation of the characters from Hopeless, instead of a toned-down version (which was put out with no promotion in a terrible timeslot and then pulled when it, unsurprisingly, failed to rate - way to go TV3).

The funniest scenes in the movie involve the character of Richard, who slowly evolves from being a harmless weirdo to seeming quite dangerous. I'd recommend it highly - particularly to Kiwis.