It's All Gone Pete Tong
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''It's All Gone Pete Tong'' is a 2004 British-Canadian
mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...
-
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film about a DJ (
Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...
) who goes completely
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
. The title uses a
rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...
phrase used in Britain from the 1980s (Pete Tong = "wrong"), referring to the BBC Radio 1 DJ
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
who cameos in the film. English singer
Gary Haisman Gary Haisman (29 January 1958 – 28 November 2018) was an English singer and one of three acts whose No. 1 songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart were featured on D Mob's '' A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That'' al ...
was behind the popular clubbing phrase "It’s all gone Pete Tong," which later inspired the title of the film. It won two awards at the
US Comedy Arts Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...
for Best Feature and Best Actor (Kaye) and swept the Gen Art Film Festival awards (Grand Jury and Audience). It was filmed on location in
Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
and shot entirely in HD. Ibiza locations used in the movie include the music venues Pacha,
Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
, Privilege, DC10 and the historic Pike's Hotel and Cala Llonga beach.


Plot

Frankie Wilde is a British music producer and DJ based in Ibiza. After years of playing in
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
s he loses his hearing, first apparent when he hears a high-pitched whine during an
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
match on TV. At this time, Frankie is making his next album with his "two Austrian mates" Alfonse and Horst, but his hearing degrades rapidly and progress stagnates. Frankie refuses to acknowledge his problem until a gig in Amnesia, when he cannot hear the second channel in his headphones and crossfades songs without first
beatmatching Beatmatching or pitch cue is a DJ technique of pitch shifting or time stretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track, and to adjust them such that the beats (and, usually, the bars) are synchronizedβ€ ...
them. When the crowd boos him, he throws the turntable and the mixer onto the dance floor, and is forcibly removed from the club. Frankie agrees to see a doctor, who tells him he has lost hearing in one ear and has 20% remaining in the other. Frankie is warned that unless he stops abusing drugs and listening to loud noises, he will soon be completely deaf, and that the use of a hearing aid is for emergencies only as it will further degrade his hearing. During a recording session, Frankie confesses the full nature of his hearing loss to Alfonse. He inserts his hearing aid to demonstrate and, overwhelmed by the sudden sound exposure, leans close to one of the monitor speakers. A frustrated Horst then smashes a guitar into an amplifier whose volume Frankie has maximized. The noise is excruciating and the feedback bursts his eardrum, knocking Frankie unconscious and leaving him permanently deaf. Without his hearing, Frankie cannot complete his album. He loses his recording contract and his manager Max abandons him. Soon after, his wife Sonya leaves him. Frankie shuts himself into his home, which he has "soundproofed" with pillows in a desperate bid to recover his hearing, and his drug use intensifies. He sinks into a heavy depression, repeatedly throwing his body against the walls, and wrapping Roman candles around his head, either an attempt at suicide or a drastic way to recover his hearing, but dives into his swimming pool before they ignite. Frankie flushes all his drugs down a toilet and is confronted by a recurring vision of a menacing cocaine badger. When he fights and kills it, he learns that the badger is, in fact, himself. Frankie finds a deaf organization and meets Penelope, who coaches him in
lip-reading Lip reading, also known as speechreading, is a technique of understanding a limited range of speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue without sound. Estimates of the range of lip reading vary, with some figures as ...
. They become close, and eventually intimate. He confides his unhappiness at losing music, and she helps him perceive sound through visual and tactile methods instead. Frankie manages to devise a system for mixing songs, in which he watches an oscilloscope trace while resting his feet on the pulsating
speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...
. Using this system, he manages to produce a new mix CD (''Hear No Evil'') entirely by himself. He delivers it to Max, who is wildly pleased – particularly by the potential of exploiting Frankie's disability to increase record sales. He has Frankie take part in promotions that are increasingly offensive and insensitive to deaf people, of which Penelope disapproves. Max convinces Frankie to play live at Pacha as a career comeback, despite Frankie's insistence that he has nothing to prove to his critics. The gig goes exceedingly well, and many claim it shows even greater talent than his early work. After the show, Frankie and Penelope disappear from Max and the music scene altogether. In a talking heads sequence, characters speculate on where he is now, if alive. As the film ends, we see Frankie disguised as a homeless street musician, who is met by Penelope carrying their child. They affectionately walk together down a street, unrecognised. Frankie is shown teaching a group of deaf children how to perceive sound and enjoy music.


Characters and cast

* Frankie Wilde (
Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...
) is the king of DJs, slowly losing his hearing, and soon to lose everything he thinks is important to him: his job, his fame and his trophy wife. * Penelope (
Beatriz Batarda Beatriz da Silveira Moreno Batarda Fernandes (born 1 April 1974) is a British-born Portuguese actress named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion in 1998. She studied design at IADE Institute in Lisbon and trained i ...
) is the deaf lip-reading instructor who gives Frankie the tough love he never had and always needed. * Sonya (
Kate Magowan Katie Victoria "Kate" Magowan (born 1 June 1975) is an English actress and producer. Her film and television roles include Yvette in ''24 Hour Party People'' (2002), Sonya in '' It's All Gone Pete Tong'' (2004), Princess Una in '' Stardust'' (20 ...
) is Frankie's supermodel wife. Her days are filled with deciding on what theme is more appropriate for their garden: Japanese or Spanish? * Max Haggar (
Mike Wilmot Mike Wilmot is a Canadian stand-up comedian represented by Off the Kerb. In 2005 he won two Canadian Comedy Awards for best male stand-up and best actor for his work in '' It's All Gone Pete Tong''. In addition to ''It's All Gone Pete Tong'', Wilm ...
) is Frankie's agent. Overweight, balding and brashly obnoxious, Max is all about money and his mobile phone is his lifeline. * Jack Stoddart (
Neil Maskell Neil Maskell (born 1976) is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films. His credits include '' Nil by Mouth'' (1997), '' The Football Factory'' (2004), '' Rise of the Footsoldier'' ( ...
) is the ruthless
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Motor Records who has no sympathy for Frankie. He says, "I didn’t want a deaf DJ on the label. I didn’t want the company to be touched with the deaf stamp. Well, business is tough and sometimes you have to make awkward decisions and I’ve made harder decisions than dropping the deaf DJ."


Cameos

Several actual professional DJs appear in the film, lending the film a sense of authenticity, like
Carl Cox Carl Andrew Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ, motorsport team owner and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has perfor ...
,
Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
and Pete Tong himself, who also executive produced the film. Others include
TiΓ«sto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as TiΓ«sto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...
,
Sarah Main Sarah Main is an Australian-born DJ working in Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) ...
, Barry Ashworth,
Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. Van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electron ...
and
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
. ''
Fubar Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associa ...
'' rockers
Paul Spence Paul Spence is a Canadian actor, author and musician.Eric Volmers, "Deaner saves humanity; Fubar star's New Nightseeker record revels in metal parody". ''Sault Star'', April 19, 2018. He is best known for his portrayal of headbanger Dean Murdoch ...
and David Lawrence, from Dowse's earlier film, also have cameos as Austrian hangers-on.


Music


Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released by
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
on 4 October 2005 as a double disc
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
for the film. The 'Night' & 'Day' concept for the soundtrack album was conceived and compiled by Ben Cherrill, who was, at the time, A&R manager for Positiva Records/EMI. Additional production and mixing was by James Doman. ; Track listing ; CD 1 # " Pacific State" –
808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. Taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" the members shared, they released ...
(exclusive mix) # "Cloud Watch" –
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
# "Dry Pool Suicide" –
Graham Massey Graham Vernon Massey (born 4 August 1960 in Manchester) is a British record producer, musician, and remixer. Early career He was a member of experimental punk jazz rock group Biting Tongues, once signed to Factory Records. After recording wit ...
# "
Moonlight Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie "Giulietta" Guicciardi. Although known throu ...
" – Graham Massey # "Baby Piano" –
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
# "Ku Da Ta" –
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
(Jay & Dylan McHugh Re-Work) # "Mirage" – Moroccan Blonde (Ben Cherrill, James Doman and
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
) # "Troubles" –
Beta Band The Beta Band are a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style is described as being a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, post-rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimentation and occasional humour. They were praised b ...
# "Parlez Moi D'Amour" –
Lucienne Boyer Lucienne Boyer (18 August 1901 – 6 December 1983) was a French diseuse and singer, best known for her song " Parlez-moi d'amour". Her impresario was Bruno Coquatrix. According to the New York Times, she "reigned as queen of Paris nightlife du ...
# "Need To Feel Loved (Horizontal Mix)" – Reflekt # "It's Over" –
Beta Band The Beta Band are a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style is described as being a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, post-rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimentation and occasional humour. They were praised b ...
# "Halo (Goldfrapp Remix)" –
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
# "How Does It Feel?" – Afterlife # "Holdin' On" –
Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten OON (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moonman, Pulp Victim an ...
# "Four-Four-Four" – Fragile State # "Music for a Found Harmonium" – Penguin CafΓ© Orchestra # "Learning to Lip-Read" –
Graham Massey Graham Vernon Massey (born 4 August 1960 in Manchester) is a British record producer, musician, and remixer. Early career He was a member of experimental punk jazz rock group Biting Tongues, once signed to Factory Records. After recording wit ...
# "
Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...
" –
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
# "Interlude" – Ben Cherrill and James Doman # "White Lines" – Barefoot ; CD 2 # "Intro" # "DJs in a Row" – Schwab # "Flashdance (Raul Rincon Mix)" – Deep Dish # "Good 2 Go" – Juggernaut (Ben Cherrill and James Doman) ''Mixed With'' "Rock That House Musiq" – Christophe Monier and DJ Pascal feat. Impulsion # "Blue Water" – Black Rock # "Back to Basics" –
Shapeshifters In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...
# "Up & Down" – Scent # "Serendipity" –
Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...
&
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
Presents
Lingua Franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
# "Plastic Dreams (Radio Edit)" –
Jaydee Robin Albers (born 1956), who uses the stage name Jaydee, is a Dutch house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 ...
# "Rock Your Body Rock" –
Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten OON (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moonman, Pulp Victim an ...
# "Can You Hear Me Now" – Double Funk feat.
Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...
(Ben Cherrill and James Doman) # "Musak (Steve Lawler Mix)" – Trisco # "Yimanya" –
Filterheadz Filterheadz are a techno DJ and Record producer, production duo from Leuven, Belgium, formed by brothers Bert and Maarten Wilmaers. History In the mid-1980s, the Filterheadz made their first musical steps by playing in a pop music, pop band. B ...
# "Need To Feel Loved (Seb Fontaine and Jay P's Mix)" – Reflekt feat. Delline Bass # "More Intensity" –
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
and Chris Cox # "Frenetic (Short Mix)" – Orbital


Score

Songs used in film but not included in the soundtrack: # "Al Sharp" –
The Beta Band The Beta Band are a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style is described as being a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, post-rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimentation and occasional humour. They were praised ...
# "Flamenco" – Flamenco Ibiza # "Get On" –
Moguai AndrΓ© Tegeler (born 9 August 1973), known by his stage name Moguai (stylised as MOGUAI), is a German music producer and DJ. In the early 1990s, he took the alias Moguai and began organising his own club nights and parties in Ruhrgebiet and MΓ ...
# "G-Spot" –
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
# "Hear No Evil" –
Lol Hammond Lol Hammond (born 1965 in Stoke Newington, London) is an English musician, producer and DJ. Hammond's career in electronic music started in the sound system Spiral Tribe in 1991. Simultaneously he created the production/remix act Drum Club toge ...
# "I Like It (Sinewave Surfer Mix)" – Narcotic Thrust # "Messa da Requiem" –
Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...
/La Scala Milan # "Electronika" – Vada # " Rise Again" –
DJ Sammy Samuel Bouriah (born 19 October 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Sammy, is a Spanish DJ and record producer. He has released five albums and has had five top-10 hits, including a cover of Bryan Adams' "Heaven", which reached number one ...
# "Ritcher Scale Madness" – ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead # "The Aviator" – Michael McCann # "Up & Down (Super Dub)" – Scent # "You Can't Hurry Love" –
The Concretes The Concretes were a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm. History Since their formation in 1995, the Concretes have grown into an eight-piece band. Original members of the band include Victoria Bergsman, Maria Eriksson, and Lisa Milberg. ...
# "Rock That House Musiq" – Impulsion


Release

The film was premiered at the
2004 Toronto International Film Festival The 29th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 9 through September 18. The festival screened 328 films of which 253 were features and 75 were shorts (148 of the films screened were in a language other than English). Awards No fi ...
. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2005 and on 26 May in the United Kingdom.


Home media

The DVD was released on 20 September 2005. The U.S. version of the DVD includes 5.1 Dolby Digital, subtitles and several extras that were part of the online/web marketing campaign: ''Frankie Wilde: The Rise'', ''Frankie Wilde: The Fall'' and ''Frankie Wilde: The Redemption''.


Reception


Commercial performance

The film made $2,226,603, a little under a quarter million above its $2 million budget.


Critical response

The film has a rating of 76% based on 71 reviews on the review aggregator website ''
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
'', the critical consensus stating, "Part raucous mockumentary, part drama-filled biopic, ''It's All Gone Pete Tong'' amuses and warms hearts with its touching, comic, and candid look at a musician faced with a career-ending handicap." On ''
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
'', it has a score of 56 based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Giving the film three stars,
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
says the film works because of its "heedless comic intensity", chronicling the rise and fall of Frankie Wilde in the film's first two acts "as other directors have dealt with emperors and kings".
Frankie may not be living the most significant life of our times, but tell that to Frankie. There is a kind of desperation in any club scene (as ''24-Hour Party People'' memorably demonstrated); it can be exhausting, having a good time, and the relentless pursuit of happiness becomes an effort to recapture remembered bliss from the past.
Melissa Mohaupt writing in ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' noted "resemblances to various hipster films about music, drugs, excess and failure" such as ''
Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundt ...
'', ''
Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic ...
'', yet it "never feels stale". There are plenty of quotable quips, and even Frankie's attempted suicide is "high-larious". She says the film manages to be "uplifting without being preachy or cheesy. There are important life lessons to be learned here, or you could just ignore them and enjoy some clever comedy." Ken Eisner of ''
The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
'' liked the film's "zippy visual style, with sun-dappled primary colours and whirlwind editing to go with the hip pop tunes and block-rockin' beats". He appreciated the fact that Dowse does not milk the many cameos, though the two ''Fubar'' actors may have been a bit much. Dennis Harvey, writing for ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', found those first two acts depressing and decidedly not as advertized (the film was hyped as another '' This is Spinal Tap''), but Michael Dowse rescues the film with "a particularly deft transitional montage that begins with Frankie discovering the musical properties of vibration... segues into lead duo's first lovemaking, and goes on as Frankie re-connects with the dance rhythms he’d thought were lost to him". Nick De Semlyen, writing for ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'', gave the film two stars, noting there were powerful moments in the film, but thought it was "too dark for casual viewers (or fans of Tong), too blunt to succeed as cult viewing". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
s Peter Bradshaw gave the film one star, panning it as "breathtakingly charmless and humourless", writing that "Paul Kaye gives a frazzled, one-note performance", while the "appearances by real-life DJs should tip you off that any satire involved is of an essentially celebratory and sycophantic sort; the comedy is leaden, the drama is flat and the attitude to deaf people is Neanderthal".


Accolades


Awards

*
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
, Best Canadian Feature – 2004 *
US Comedy Arts Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...
, Best Feature, Best Actor (Paul Kaye) – 2005 * Gen Art Film Festival, Grand Jury Award, Audience Award – 2005 *
Vancouver Film Critics Circle The Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) was founded in 2000 by David Spaner and Ian Caddell, in order to help promote Canadian films and the British Columbia film and television industry. Its membership includes print, radio, on-line, and telev ...
, Best British Columbian Film – 2005 *
Canadian Comedy Awards The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000. Th ...
, Best Performance by a Male - Film (Mike Wilmot) – 2005 *
Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
Best Overall Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Feature-Length Drama – 2005


Nominations

* Method Fest, Best Actor, Best Feature * BIFA, Best Achievement in Production *
Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculpt ...
(8)


Adaptations

The film was remade in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
by the Indian film director Neerav Ghosh, titled ''
Soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
'' and was released in 2011.


See also

*
List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing There is a body of films that feature the Deafness, deaf and hard of hearing. The ''Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series'' wrote, "The world of the deaf has received little attention in film. Like blindness... it has been misused as a ...


References


External links

*
FrankieWilde.com

Official trailer
on YouTube * * {{Authority control 2004 films 2000s English-language films HanWay Films films Vertigo Films films Canadian mockumentary films Canadian independent films Canadian comedy films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Michael Dowse Deaf culture in the United Kingdom British Sign Language films Films set in Ibiza Films about DJs Films about deaf people 2000s Canadian films