Imprisoned by OCD and agoraphobia in his fusty Kings Cross flat, Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg) picks through the debris of the disastrous European holiday he took with best mate Bunny (Simon Farnaby) the year before.
The kicker? He – and we – never really leave the apartment, a museum of militantly catalogued memories.
Recreating the duo’s outlandish adventures with abstract sets, stop-motion animation and all manner of swirly ticks and tricks (Switzerland, for example, is represented by a snow globe), Mighty Boosh director Paul King conjures a vivid, cartoonish mindscape enlivened by a potty-mouthed Spanish love interest (Verónica Echegui), various Boosh alumni and a huge stuffed bear.
Gorgeous to look at, mostly funny and destined for deserved cult repute, the film only flops in the last act, when narrative drive fails to replace the wonky novelty.
Like its 2D backdrops, King’s bigscreen debut may be paper-thin, but it’s beautifully crafted.
