Brief Announcement

This review contains minor spoilers.

"Warning: Those living outside the United Kingdom may not get this AT ALL. This is because the following movie takes many digs at the BBC, a British broadcasting network. Outsiders, expect to be confused and watch with caution, for you may fall asleep. Britons however, or those who can access BBC channels, can expect to be amused by a few jokes, should this film manage to keep you interested after the opening couple of sequences. Thank you for reading this warning, and please try to enjoy this movie."

I have basically summed up this movie in the paragraph above. Potentially amusing and funny to Britons (and anyone else who watches BBC news bulletins), but extremely dull to everyone else. But that's not to say that if you are British, you are guaranteed to find it funny. I got bored after the first couple of scenes, and I am British. I'm living proof that Brief Announcement can still disappoint if the abbreviation "BBC" means anything to you. The only joke I really laughed at was the first one, mocking the "red button" digital viewers seem to have. Oh wait a second, many of you in America and in other parts of the world are probably puzzled by this "red button" thing, and that is basically what most of the jokes in Brief Announcement are like. You only have a chance of having a great time if you actually get the jokes, so be warned.

You are probably bored by what I have been saying in the last couple of paragraphs, so I will now give you the rundown of what Brief Announcement is actually about. Like I have said earlier, Brief Announcement takes several digs at the BBC, with locations such as Paris, Cairo, and of course, the all-familiar BBC newsroom. Most of the scenery looks good enough, although I perhaps would have liked it a bit more detailed considering they remain still (due to it being like a news bulletin). Voices are generally fine too, a relief seeing as it is meant to be a news movie, but to me, the jokes just let me down. I found many unfunny, but others could find themselves cracking up. The jokes are very hit-and-miss, and they can either keep you constantly laughing or continuously bore you. It really does depend on your sense of humour, and being a news bulletin, I suppose this is like a stand-up comedy. Most of the jokes delievered in Brief Announcement is given to you by a 3DMM character, facing you, with his or her feet rooted to the ground, so if you don't like stand-up comedy, this is probably not your cup of tea. Stick to Videogame Nightmare 2 instead.

Put simply, if "BBC" means nothing to you, you shouldn't bother wasting your time on this. But if however it plays a big part in your life, it is worth checking this out. I did, and even though it bored me in some places, it was enjoyable in others. I may not have found much of Brief Announcement amusing, but it was nice to watch a different movie like this once in a while. Even though this is nowhere near making the prestigious list of best comedies, I still didn't mind spending my time viewing this movie, a bit like The Bird Santuary, just not as good. Don't expect anything from this and you shouldn't find this that bad, providing you have some knowledge of the BBC. It's not for everyone, but it should please the target audience.

Score: 60/100