The Look of Love

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source: The Look of Love

I knew nothing about Paul Raymond and this film before a few hours ago. I decided to watch it because the title reminded me of ABC's The Look of Love song which played at the credits of Hamlet 2 which, funny enough, starred Steve Coogan (the song is a favorite of mine). You might be wondering why I'm rating this a 10 and it's because I read Felix Dennis's "How to Get Rich," which is his honest telling/recollection of his own story about becoming filthy, filthy rich and living the kind of lifestyle that he did (Dennis is the founder of Maxim Magazine) and this movie captures a certain essence in which I felt was present in Dennis's book (coincidentally, Paul Raymond was the founder of "Men Only" which I had no idea about prior to watching this film). Although this is just a movie, it's an interpretation, and I understand there are a lot of parts untold and whatnot, but because it shared certain strong similarities to Dennis's story, I can't help but use it as a powerfully insightful reflection of what it can be like to be in the shoes of someone like Paul Raymond or Felix Dennis, as well as those who are close to them, to compare/contrast who I am, and what I really want to experience in my own life. I'm the kind of person who always takes away from a movie a positive effect, but this one in particular really resonated with me, probably because I read Dennis's book several months ago and immediately recognized the connection, but it was also very, very entertaining and there was plenty of heart that went into making this film -- I was engrossed from beginning to end.

3 of my favourite films have been directed by Michael Winterbottom and starred Steve Coogan. A Cock And Bull Story, 24 Hour Party People and The Trip (in the UK we were lucky enough to see the full TV series, but the movie version was great as well). This isn't as good, but still entertaining. When I was pubescent, Paul Raymond's Men Only magazine was a must-read if you could get an adult to buy it for you, and Fiona Richmond was someone you thought you might just have a chance with if you got to meet her. In short, this film meant a lot to me. My problem with this is that it's all far too glossy. Soho in the 60/70/80's and there isn't a villain in sight and everything going on is fairly innocuous? And I really liked Paul Raymond, but to survive in that environment there must have been more to him. Anyway, an enjoyable film overall. And I went away with that final close-up on Imogen Poots as Debbie singing the title song almost breaking my heart.

Michael Winterbottom is reunited with Steve Coogan in this watchable tale of one time richest man in Britain, * and property entrepreneur Paul Raymond. Winterbottom elects to tell the story through the eyes of Raymond as he watches a video tape of a documentary he made with his daughter. Coogan puts in a well rounded performance playing Raymond (it would have been easy to make the character either too likable, too bolshy or too obnoxious, credit to Coogan for getting the balance just right) from his early days when he first opened a members only strip club in SoHo to his later years after the death of his daughter Debbie - Imogen Poots. Raymond dotes on her and its their relationship which is central to the storytelling. He is portrayed as more or less disowning his other children; an uncomfortable scene to view is the visit and dinner he shares with his son from an early relationship. Anna Friel is superb as his first wife and mother of their three children Jean, who tolerates Raymond's countless affairs/one night stands. He explains at one point that its only natural for him to be having sex with all the beautiful women who work for him, else what sort of a man would he be. To throw a spanner in the works along comes Amber -Tamsin Egerton with whom Raymond falls in love with and leaves Jean for after she auditions for him. We follow Raymond and Amber as their relationship develops, no need this time for illicit liaisons for Raymond as Amber is partial to a bit of three in a bed. At this time Raymond takes the advice of and employs Tony Power to launch the naughty magazine (and extremely lucrative) side of his business. Power a playboy type coke addict is played; in a great piece of casting by stand up comic and panel show regular Chris Addison. Look out for bit parts from other Brit comedy stars including David Williams as a vicar. This is a well scripted, acted and directed film as you'd expect from Winterbottom, which left me wanting to know more about Raymond. It moves along at a good pace and manages to offer both light and shade within the plot, as well as evoking the various decades featured with fine detail. Well worth the entry fee and bus fare.

The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man. I guess that's the tagline. The guy is surrounded by naked girls. But why is this so boring? I found the most truthful line in the movie. During Debra's wedding, one guest comments "This is more like a f**king funeral." Well that's the whole movie. Michael Winterbottom directs this and it's professionally done. It looks good. There are great actors here. Steve Coogan is Paul Raymond. Anna Friel is the wife. Imogen Poots is the daughter. Tamsin Egerton is the new love interest. They are fine in their roles. But there is definite lack of drama here. Part of the problem is that the story is told in chronological order. His rise to the top is as boring as can be. There is one dramatic relationship in his life. The only relationship that truly mattered to him in this movie was to his daughter. There is a good dramatic story there. Too bad it's only secondary in this autopilot version. Winterbottom needed to find the most dramatic and compelling part of his life and concentrate a laser on it.

Title says it all. Enjoyed the film, 7/10. Heavy on tits, great stuff! Haha, but in all seriousness, I did get into the story and enjoyed it. It was just a shame the cameos detracted from this; Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Simon Bird, Matt Lucas, Dara O'Brien.... pointless. Why do I have to do 10 lines? Do people dislike short and snappy reviews? Cut all the rhetoric, it doesn't have to be like listening to politicians... More? GRRRR How Many More

Review: This movie starts off well but then it goes downhill once the relationship between Paul Raymond and his daughter gets introduced. The movie focuses on a period in his life more than his legacy, which is a shame because I found him quite interesting. All of the actors put in good performances and I liked the wit that was put into the script, but I did get bored after a while. Steve Coogan played his part well, taking into consideration that he is coming from a comedy background, but I was hoping for a deeper look into the tycoon. It ends without much explanation about what happened to Paul Raymond and his family and I would have like to see some real footage, either on the bonus material on the DVD or even at the end of the movie. I honestly think that the director cold have done much better with such an interesting individual. Disappointing! Round-Up: Judging by the money that this movie had made, audiences obviously didn't like the directors interpretation of Paul Raymond's life. I hadn't heard of him before watching this movie so I found his story quite interesting. I didn't know that Soho had been controlled by one person and how the whole empire started so it was a bit of an eye opener. I would like to see a proper biopic though. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $16,000 (Terrible!) I recommend this movie to people who like there graphic dramas about Paul Raymond and a period of his life. 3/10