Janice Beard: 45 Wpm review

Pathological liar Janice Beard (Walsh) is a true social misfit. But her mum suffers acute agoraphobia, and it's down to Janice to find the funds for a cure. So, armed with only a tenuous grasp of reality and extremely limited secretarial skills, she heads from Scotland to London to work as a typist for a car manufacturer. There she contrives to finally win over the initially shocked female team and grab the heart of office boy Sean (Ifans).

It's obvious that Janice Beard: 45 WPM wants to be another kooky British hit. But it's nowhere near being the classic cult film the hype had suggested, and its popularity at last year's Edinburgh Film Festival is simply baffling.

Truth is, it's an irritatingly over-whimsical mess that's neither clever nor witty enough to sustain your interest for even half its running time - and you have to wonder: after the big hit of Notting Hill, how many more Brit-misses can Rhys Ifans handle?