Sex Lives of the Potato Men (2004)

Follows the sexual antics of a group of potato delivery men in Birmingham.

Director:

Andy Humphries

Writer:

Andy Humphries

Stars:

Johnny Vegas, Mackenzie Crook, Carol Harvey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Vegas	...	Dave
Mackenzie Crook	...	Ferris
Carol Harvey	...	Chip Shop Woman
Helen Latham	...	Chip Shop Girl
Dominic Coleman	...	Tolly
Mark Gatiss	...	Jeremy
Kate Robbins	...	Joan
Nicholas Tennant	...	Phil (as Nicolas Tennant)
Angela Simpson	...	Vicky
Lucy Davis	...	Ruth
Ceris Jones	...	Poppy's Brother
Joy Aldridge	...	Massage Shop Woman
Laurence Inman	...	Porn Shop Bloke
Alfie Hunter	...	Matthew
Craig May	...	Ruth's Boyfriend

Storyline

Mackenzie Crook and Johnny Vegas star as the bird-chasing, self-proclaimed "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" of Birmingham in this £3 million brit-com about two lowlifes with active fantasy sex lives who deliver potatoes to various restaurants and grocers.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | masturbation | loneliness | loser | chauvinism | 

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Taglines:

The search for the lowest form of life on the planet is over.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening scene, Johnny Vegas drives a van and taunts the driving instructor. In real life, Vegas did not have a drivers license at the time.

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Quotes

Jeremy: [Reading the letter he has just written Ruth in his head] Like a leaf falling from a tree, I fell for you. Gradual. Then suddenly. My insides melt. Your eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth. Everything leading to now. In the lake, my shattered reflection. The million pieces of heartbrak. Be still, then, passion. She has turned away, like the winter. My hibernating love. As it warms, the clear shafts of sunlight penetrate your moist fanny with my stiff, meaty love-rocket.
Jeremy: [gasps] Fucking bitch!

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Connections

Referenced in Projector: Keith Lemon: The Film (2012)

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Soundtracks

Hands Up
Written by Francois Carles (as Carles) and Didier Ringot (uncredited)
Performed by Super Preachers

User Reviews

It's actually quite good

I saw this at the cinema when it came out and had no idea it had been mauled by the critics. I laughed as much as I ever have done at a film and plenty others there seemed to find it just as funny. There are some great lines in the script and excellent performances from Mark Gatiss, Mackenzie Crook and (in some ways) Johnny Vegas.

The attacks on the film have been ridiculous. It is not smutty. It is not a revival of Carry on or the Confessions series. It has nothing in it for teenage onanists. Every other movie coming out of Hollywood these days spends half its time ogling its stars in lingering close up. Potato Men does not contain a single scene like that, nor was anyone cast as eye candy. Quite the opposite...

It shows a coarse, poor, bleak life in a coarse, bleak, but humorous way and does not try and convince anyone that we are watching the Salt of the Earth. It was probably that element that shocked the reviewers. Well received British movies like The Full Monty and Billy Elliot seem self- conscious about this issue. It is as though we have to be packaged for an imaginary American audience, who might otherwise have us down for horse riding snobs.

I am not claiming it to be a masterpiece. It has some weak elements that can be attributed mainly to the episodic plot and a low budget. There is a review here from trinitybay9 that sums it up very well. There are four sections and the one concerning Tolly is quite poor. There are some excellent comedy performances in the film but Dominic Coleman's is not one of them.

The real shame though is that the director is never likely to make another film. With the honourable exception of Johnny Vegas, even the cast responded gutlessly to the bad press. It is easily the best thing Mackenzie Crook has done since The Office, but he seems to consider it to be, artistically, a black mark on a CV that contains the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Сексуальная жизнь картофельных парней

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP1,800,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,249,135

Company Credits

Production Co:

Devotion Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1