''Large'' is a 2001 feature film directed by
Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar (born 18 August 1971) is a British film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer.
Early life
Born in Handsworth, West Midlands, Handsworth, Birmingham, Edgar left school with no qualifications because he regularly played ...
for
FilmFour
Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...
.
Plot
''Large'' is a gross-out teen comedy which centres on Jason, the son of a fading rock star, and his comic attempts to fulfill the conditions of his father's will in order to inherit a fortune.
Cast
*
Luke de Woolfson
Luke de Woolfson (born 7 March 1976) is a British film and television actor.
Filmography
*2000: ''Urban Gothic'' as Noddy (1 episode in TV series)
*2001: ''Model, Actress, Whatever'' as Matt (TV movie)
*2001: ''Late Night Shopping'' as Sean
*200 ...
as Jason Mouseley
*
Simon Lowe
Simon Lowe is a British actor who, among other titles, has played series regulars in ''Bodies'' (Dr. Tim Sibley), and ''The Grimleys'' (Shane Titley), both of which were written by Jed Mercurio. He also played Derek Evans in '' EastEnders''. In ...
as Rob
*
Phil Cornwell
Philip Cornwell (born 5 October 1957) is an English actor, comedian, impressionist and writer. He is part of the '' Dead Ringers'' television and radio series, and was the voice of Murdoc Niccals in the virtual band Gorillaz. Cornwell has co- ...
as Barry Blaze Mouseley
*
Melanie Gutteridge as Sophie
*
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
as Lorraine
*
Lee Oakes
Lee Oakes (born 1976) is an English actor best known for his role as Munch Wilkinson in the British comedy ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' and as Kev in the British television series '' After You've Gone,'' a friend and fellow buil ...
as Ian
*
Andrew Grainger
Andrew Grainger (born 1965) is an English theatre and film actor. A native of the United Kingdom, Grainger moved to Castor Bay, Auckland, New Zealand in 2007, where he is active in both theatre and television productions, but continues to appea ...
as Norman Gates
Production
Large was produced by
Alex Usborne. The pre-production period was relatively long, with writers Mike Dent and Justin Edgar draughting 20 versions of the script. ''Large'' was filmed and edited at
Pebble Mill Studios
Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...
and on location in director Edgar's hometown of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, UK, for six weeks in March and April 2000 on a budget of £1.4 million. The line producer was Paul Ritchie (''
Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...
'', ''
Bend It Like Beckham
''Bend It Like Beckham'' (also known as ''Kick It Like Beckham'') is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightle ...
''). It was the first film of Director of Photography Robbie Ryan (''
Fish Tank
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amp ...
'', ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
'') and Editor Eddie Hamilton (''
Kick Ass'', ''
X-Men: First Class''). It was also Edgar's feature film debut.
Release
''Large'' premiered at the Cannes Film Festival market in May 2001 and was sold for distribution in Spain, France, Germany, Australia and other major territories. It was released on 5 October 2001 (UK) by
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
.
Reception
The film attracted generally positive reviews with ''
Sight and Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' praising the film's humour and Edgar's magpie sensibilities and energy.
''Large'' was considered a flop on its cinema release but had a highly successful home entertainment release, selling over 30,000 DVDs for distributor Pathé
and entering the UK video charts at number 10.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0248953
2001 films
2001 comedy films
British comedy films
2000s English-language films
2000s British films