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39 out of 51 people found the following review useful: A Nice Little Comedy That Doesn't Try Too Hard, 21 March 2007 Author: bigjohnny7 from Manchester, England
I Want Candy is the story of two aspiring film-students who find themselves making a porn film in Leatherhead.Looking at the poster for the film, I was expecting this to be a dumb British version of the all-too familiar teen comedies that pollute our screens every summer (American Pie, Dude Where's My Car?, Not Another Teen Movie, etc.). How wrong I was. It's not the greatest film ever made, but it doesn't try to be.Surprisingly, there's no nudity in the film whatsoever and the references to sex and porn are handled with a modicum of taste - again, not what you would expect.Eddie Marsan (Gangster No.1, Vera Drake, The Illusionist) is excellent, as usual, as the sleazy film producer whilst Mackenzie Crook blesses us with his presence as a lecturer who desperately seeks kudos from the students.My two criticisms of the film would have to be the typical Hollywood ending (which, like Carmen Electra, didn't really suit the sleepy Leatherhead suburb location) and the poor characterisation of Baggy (one of the two male leads).I would probably recommend this film to friends - if only for the very funny bathroom scene.
36 out of 47 people found the following review useful: Yes, I Want Candy!, 25 March 2007 Author: Simon Parker from United Kingdom
I Want Candy wasn't a movie I was extremely looking forward to. In fact despite a relatively funny trailer I was actually dreading it at times. You see teenager comedy isn't exactly what I'm into, I find the whole American Pie scene very overrated despite only being 16 myself. Just could never get into the whole idea of sex comedies unless they were really inventive and witty. A shame that very few of these sex comedies have an ounce of originality between them. However it is a pleasant surprise to say that I Want Candy is actually a damn funny and well made movie. Sure its lacking in terms of originality, and I suppose I could complain that the ending wraps things up just a little bit too neatly, but the movie is consistently entertaining. Contains some pretty damn good performances and doesn't scrimp on the laughs either. Its a comedy that has enough dramatic weight to go alongside its great sense of humour. The other surprising fact is that despite it being a 15 (R in USA) the movie doesn't actually contain any nudity or that much swearing. Maybe people might see this as a negative, however it still works and it proves that the comedy doesn't need to rely on these things. Of course its got some rude bits to keep people entertained and keep with the porno theme of the movie, but it never relies on them like a lot of sex comedies have done in the past.The actual movie isn't perfect. There are flaws. For example the beginning is pretty dull, until they actually start casting the movie does actually struggle to get any momentum. Sure there is fun to be had in those scenes and the humour there is pretty nice and subtle. But its just not what you'd expect from this sort of movie and it could end up actually boring quite a few people. Matters aren't helped by Jimmy Carr who is possibly the most overrated comedian going at the moment. His scenes are funny a times, but the actual actor himself I found more irritating than anything else. However after you get over the mild set back of the beginning and if you ignore the well wrapped up finale the bits in between are just a blast and can get some great laughs.The performances themselves are generally brilliant. I never though I would be able to praise Carmen Elektra, however she really did surprise me. She manages to deliver a half decent performance here, surprising as all she has to do is really be the eye candy and say a few lines. But her performance is nowhere near as excruciatingly bad as she has been in previous movie, Epic Movie just one of those awful movies. The two leads, Tom Riley and Tom Burke are really likable as Joe and Baggy. Joe might come across as irritating at some moments and Baggy perhaps whines a bit too much in the middle section, but in general they're pretty believable characters and they do some great performances. Michelle Ryan of Eastenders fame does a surprisingly good job as the love interest, at least she'll come out of Eastenders alive and might actually be seen in quite a few movies after this performance. Credit also has to go to Mackenzie Crook in a hilarious performance that reminded me so much of one of my own teachers.Now then I have to talk about the actual humour of the movie. Now despite a pretty subtle and dull at times beginning the humour really gets going when the porno theme kicks in. We've got an explosive ejaculation sequence that had me crying with laughter, a disturbingly funny bit with a pear, and a bit to make you gaga involving pubes and some butter. But the movie is more than your average sex jokes, its got some genuinely funny lines in there as well and moments that can make you laugh. Its a movie that is full of traditional British humour but has some sex jokes thrown in as well for your own pleasure.Overall I Want Candy is a great surprise and a British comedy that is one to remember. It won't be to everyones tastes of course, but for the most part its a great laugh featuring some surprisingly decent performances.
32 out of 44 people found the following review useful: I Want Carmen Electra!, 28 March 2007 Author: adam gilbey from middlesbrough, england
This is a great British comedy about a couple of film students (Joe and Baggy) who try and get their script "The Love Storm". After going to a few production companies they arrive at an adult film company run by Doug (Eddie Marsan). Joe decides to make the movie into an erotic movie and tries to hire the biggest name in porn - Candy Fiveways (played by Carmen Electra).Surprisingly there is no nudity in this film but there are quite a few funny scenes. One involves an actor and lets just say thank god for wet wipes. Another involves an Asian babe and ping pong balls. Jimmy Carr and Mackenzie Crook provide some decent scenes between them too.This is a real British feel good comedy and provides all that is needed for this type of film. I give it 8/10.
25 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Gentle British comedy that hits the spot, 2 April 2007 Author: gaz_uwic from United Kingdom
I Want Candy is all about two young film makers, Joe and Baggy, who are striving to get their moving making career off the ground. However they soon find out that its more difficult getting into the trade than expected and hence chance their arms at the adult film industry. The two personalities of the characters are completely different - one confident and good at talking himself out of situations, the other naturally more reserved who comes out of his shell as the film progresses. Both though are played with amiable gusto by the two actors and there is plenty more people you'd recognise - Mackenzie Crook stars as a lecturer desperately trying to fit in, Felicity Montagu and Phillip Jackson enjoy their roles as Joe's staid parents and Jimmy Carr has some nice lines as the local video shop cashier - oh, and of course Carmen Electra. Though not laugh out loud funny, the comedy gently bubbles along and there's lots of good lines to be had which make you chuckle to yourself. Also, for a supposed 'sex comedy' the scenes are performed tastefully and there's probably only one scene that would have made it into an American pie-esquire film, involving an unlucky cameraman. Yes, the film has stereotypes, from the Eastern European sound guys to the gangster bosses and the first 20 minutes seem slightly slow, but there's lots to like about this film. The actors gel nicely with each other, the laughs from the different situations are plentiful and its a genuinely good British comedy that keeps you entertained.
27 out of 37 people found the following review useful: Great light hearted entertainment, 24 March 2007 Author: maisie99 from United Kingdom
I went to see this movie without any expectations and not really knowing much about it and I really enjoyed it, I came out feeling thoroughly entertained. And I rarely laugh out loud in the cinema.I think the reason people have been disappointed is that the advertising has been misleading - pictures of a half-naked Carmen Electra - when there isn't much of this in the movie itself. So if you want a soft porn movie with scantily clad women this isn't for you. But if you want great light hearted entertainment it is.Admittedly the storyline is not a complex one, but after a long week that's exactly what one needs on a Friday night. I was thankful for being entertained without having to try.The mixed cast works well. Great performances from two unknown leads supported by established actors such as Eddie Marsan and Mackenzie Crook carry this movie through. Overall, a great British feel-good movie which doesn't take itself too seriously.Look out for the bathroom scene!
18 out of 24 people found the following review useful: More than just a 'British American Pie', 28 March 2007 Author: gav_12 from London
I went to see this movie with few expectations, reasoning that even if it was awful there would be lots of pretty people to look at. It was actually really entertaining and genuinely funny throughout, and in lots of different ways. The posters make it look like it will be a soft porn romp, but apart from a few underwear shots, its all very clean. I wouldn't necessarily say take your mother, but it is a very enjoyable film. You really get a feel for the characters, and it is the interactions between them that really makes the film what it is, even with the minor characters, Crook in particular plays a great role as the hippy-ish, pretentious college teacher, who even though he pops up rarely in the film steals the scene every time. Even Carmen Electra, who you wouldn't have thought of as a dialog actress puts in a really believable performance as a the porn star with both a brain and a heart. It's not often I laugh out loud at a film but I did at this,lots. Give it a try and you'll be amused, especially in what is a fairly poor week at the box office.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Unoriginal but funny comedy, 24 August 2007 Author: eternalsea from United Kingdom
Released between 300 and Mr.Bean's Holiday, this British production never really had a chance at the Box-Office despite a clever plot, amusing trailer and presence of sex siren Carmen Electra. The film didn't score to well with critics either, comments such as "It's a dire sex comedy" and "a crude, leering poorly timed farce" where pretty much commen place. Still is the film bad enough to warrant a battering on all fronts (no pun intended)? The answer is no. The plot is a clever enough little idea, two geeky film students in attempting to sell a film pitch end up agreeing to make a porn flick for the wrong people. They are offered the service of Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra) the worlds most famous adult film star, but even with this supposed blessing, they still have to defeat the obstacles that include suspicious parents, a lack of cash and their general inexperience behind the camera. I want Candy is still waiting on a US release and so marks one of few films we get first. The film is heavily flawed but there's a charm that carry's this picture and despite being a movie with more sex toys, lesbian love scenes and innuendos than you can count it's really quite good natured. The young cast are pretty solid and whilst I don't expect to see either Tom Burke or Tom Riley become the next Hugh Grant, both might just manage in this business. Both convey a sense of excitement and dread concerning their problem, but overall the balance really feels quite nice and realistic. More often than not we are encouraged to laugh at the pratfalls Tom and err...Tom find themselves drawn into. That grows harder as the picture goes on, indeed the audience felt a lot of sympathey for the two lads on more than one occasion, and that can get in the way of belly laughter. Electra doesn't really have any acting chops to stretch but the former Baywatch babe is a likable candy, a women who despite her career and physical attributes is intelligent and something of a film buff. In many ways Electra grounds the picture and offers as many good jokes as anybody else, probably around half a dozen or so. Pirates Of The Caribbean star MacKenzie Crook offers up a few decent chuckles as the boys teacher, and Jimmy Carr manages a neat cameo as a dodgy video store clerk. The script is a bit hit and miss particularly during the middle section of the movie, I found myself laughing more at the beginning and end. That's not so say the script isn't inspired in sections, I really was caught off guard by several of the gags but to many jokes where predictable and a fair bit of the material feels recycled. Director Stephen Surjik who directed the second and vastly weaker Wayne's Worlds should be pleased enough with the final outcome, it matches anything else on his CV in terms of quality. The production looks pretty cheap and I expect the explanation for this is also the simplest. The film can't have been made on a mega budget, indeed with US release still uncertain it's fair to say the amount of money pumped in could well be miniscule. The cinematography is weak and the film looks made for T.V, which will always distract no matter how sharp a script the film boasts. The film is bound to have a lot of people recoiling in their seats as the cringe inducing scenarios pile up. Having to listen to your mum and dad having sex whilst your locked in their en suite may be bad, but thats only a fraction of the embarrassment the boys have to suffer. Last year I watched a movie called The Moguls which starred Jeff Bridges and had a similar plot to this project. I Want Candy emerges as far the better flick, and so anybody who got a kick out the first film will almost certainly enjoy this one.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: You'll get Candy, and Side-Splitting Laughter!, 22 August 2008 Author: Len9876 from United States
Foreign film-makers seem to be the only ones who know how to make a film. English film makers seem to be masters at mysteries, suspense movies, and thrillers are quite adept at comedies. "I Want Candy" (2007) is a hilariously-funny film about sex--which is done in an open and tasteful way. Unlike American films, no disclaimers are necessary, and there is no 'sexphobia' here. Carmen Electra effectively delivers sexual titillation--but she also is beautiful, healthy, intelligent and a well-developed female, who actually prefers making a good, old-fashioned Hollywood movie. She's just too smart, and has too-much intellect, to waste herself on the porno industry. In this film, there is no blood and gore, or violence. And, the film does not rely on animation or special effects.The film is aptly directed by Stephen Surjik. The screen-writer, Peter Hewitt, provides a predictable, but enjoyably-funny script. The film follows the exploits of two young and horny men, who try to break into the movie-making industry, any way they can. The two young man, Baggy (Tom Burke) and Joe (Tom Riley) sell their script, but not before they promise a producer (Eddie Marsan) that they'll deliver a film with top adult-movie star, Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra). Will they be able to make it in movie land?Joe's Dad: "...the entertainment industry is an impossible road, full of obstacles...now we admire your ambition, Joe. Ambition is everything...you (have) got to follow your dream. That way--when you fail--you can always say--well, at least you tried..." The color film is rated R, for sexual content, but the language is very tame. The runtime is 85 minutes of continual laughter (the film is so reminiscent of "Risky Business"). Recommended for adults, I rank the film an 8 out of 10. You will have a good laugh!
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: An update of the 70s British sex farce, 4 April 2008 Author: JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com
This film is a bit like those American 'sex' comedies of the mid-sixties, the kind that featured Rock Hudson or Natalie Wood. They often featured the word 'Sex' in their title, and that was about as close as the movie – and its pretty leads – ever came to the actual act itself. I Want Candy is the improbable tale of a couple of film students (Toms Burke and Riley) from Leatherhead who are so desperate to get their psychological love story onto the big screen that they somehow end up turning it into a porn film for a crooked sleaze merchant (Eddie Marsan). In keeping with the passing similarity to reality, Marsan's porn merchant is about as frightening as a jack terrier, but he's always worth watching anyway.The film itself is pleasant enough, although it's easy to see why some might feel cheated by the mild sexual content, but it begins to feel increasingly rushed as it approaches what is, frankly, a completely daft conclusion. There are a few laughs along the way though, including a typical two semi-naked men trapped in a bathroom stint reminiscent of the British sex farces of the early 70s, an amusingly worked case of confrontational mistaken identity, and a woman who can perform incredible tricks with what seems to be an endless supply of ping pong balls. In the midst of all these tame laughs is one gross-out moment that is totally out of keeping with the tone of the rest of the film and an attempt by one of the lads to bed the glamorous porn star they have hired that seems to be shoehorned in to the plot so that that hoary old cliché of 'lecherous man caught by numerous bystanders as he waits in his smalls for the lady who is never going to turn up for their rendezvous' can be revisited.Apart from these shortcomings, Burke and Riley make a likable pair of leads and Carmen Electra looks beautiful. The film will painlessly see you through an hour-and-a-half, but you will be hard-pressed to remember much about it in a very short space of time.
Entertaining Watch, 25 June 2009 Author: RobM123 from United Kingdom
Here's a film that delivers exactly what it sets out to achieve, it leaves that nice feel good impression on the audience. It's light fun and this film will entertain groups as well as individuals. It's far from Spielberg stuff but it offers a fresh and fun approach to a genre swamped in woeful products. I had very few expectations for a movie based on filming a porno but with the lower prospect came a pleasing revelation. 'I Want Candy' is a truly good film.The plot is simple, two college students decide to develop a class film but unfortunately receive funding from a group of gangsters, who's one goal is to film Candy (Carmen Electra). The story although predictable provided just enough humour to keep the audience entertained, three moments in particular had my eyes watering. One disappointment for me was Jimmy Carr being handed very few good lines and his character was very forgettable.The two lead actors I knew very little about but both showed good charisma and ability in their roles. Carmen Electra and Michelle Ryan also provided respectable performances and did not just offer the 'fit factor'. I particularly enjoyed the three young actors acting as crew members as the were hilarious from start to end, (the scene where his trousers were falling down whilst holding the camera had me in stitches).I really enjoyed the filming location and brightness, its a big change from the classic gritty grey British colours which make's the country look dull and ugly.To conclude, if one was ever in need of a lift or just fancies a good watch 'I Want Candy' will not disappoint.
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