Sometimes, a film comes along that is so tailored to your tastes that it feels like wish fulfillment. With its tongue-in-cheek excessive violence, this is very much the case with Nick Gillespie’s new film, “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break,” which is world premiering as part of the ‘Narrative Spotlight’ section at this year’s SXSW festival.
The film is an absolute delight as it follows the titular Paul Dood (Tom Meeten), a fantastically sequined individual who dreams of winning it big in the U.K.’s national competition on an app called “Trend Ladder,” where people compete to climb a fame ladder. The auditions catch him by surprise, and with his mom Julie (June Watson), he goes to an audition that could change his life.
The film feels like a road trip on foot at the start as they go to their auditions, as they deal with five terrible people who make Paul late. The comedy in this first act is a lot of red tape comedy as certain characters prevent Paul from doing simple tasks. This humour is so British and dry as these people take so much time, and it’s often the kind-of comedy that frustrates me but it fits this film like a glove.
From these people, too, you get the sense that people walk all over Paul every single day of his life. All that and other considerable factors, Paul breaks in a moment where you can identify the start of his villain origins story. He fantasizes about killing those who destroyed his chance at glory over “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break.”
Though Paul is planning mass murder, Tom Meeten is so lovable as the character. He’s so easy to root for and his relationship with his mom is so nice as she believes so fiercely in him, and you get the sense that it’s always just been Paul and Mum. That set-up is all well-written by Gillespie (as well as Brook Driver and Matthew White), and the way everything plays out is just as brilliant as the deaths meet expectations but also exceeds them. Impressively, too, Gillespie’s pulls off the tricky balancing act of maintaining Paul’s likability.
Paul’s totally an anti-hero but you sympathize and you never, ever root against him. It’s nearly impossible to dislike him because of his costumes and how great the character looks. It also helps that it’s so fun watching his enemies get their comeuppance, and the actors in these roles are fun to watch. There are so many jerks in this film, from Kris Marshall’s character to the film’s conceited reality show host Jack Tapp (Kevin Bishop). He’s a lot of fun and helps the film lean into its satire on fame and social media. “Everyone deserves a chance,” is Jack’s motto when the cameras are rolling. When the cameras are off, he’s a total jerk and his lines in these moments are hilarious. The idea for this app—as Paul has a platform to climb that fame ladder—is great.
It’s also neat as this film defies genre. There are very slight horror elements (mostly in one scene), but it feels like this fits neatly into action-thriller and black comedy. When it’s at its funniest, I got vibes of Edgar Wright’s humour and I felt like I was watching one of his Cornetto Trilogy (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “The World’s End”) for the first time. I could tell both “Shaun” and “Hot Fuzz” would be favourites of mine the first time I watched them and the same can be said about “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break.” I felt like I was watching a special film and I can see it becoming a cult favourite because it is so much fun. When it gets to its murder section in the second and third acts, I was laughing a lot. It takes its foot off the pedal slightly in the third act, but it still entertains and always maintains its heart.
At its core it’s a film about a lonely man trying to find his place in the world and also be taken seriously. Tom Meeten plays to that so well, playing to the vengeance and the character’s individuality. The moments where we see Paul at the talent show and hear his song and dance…it’s charmingly clumsy, but so great. As Paul becomes a star, so does Tom Meeten in the role.
Paul’s so unapologetically himself and we should all be a bit more like Paul Dood. There’s nothing about “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break” that suggests you personally should go on lunch break killing sprees, but we all fantasize about it once in awhile. Paul’s simply the one to act on it. It’s all defined so well by the film’s opening quote as Margaret Atwood once said, “If we were all on trial for our thoughts, we would all be hanged.” Paul Dood will be on trial for more than just his thoughts, but good on you, Paul Dood, all the same.
