Watches
January 31, 2022
Danny Boyle takes a stab at the wonderfully depraved world of the door-to-door vacuum salesman. If you hadn't heard of this film before, it's because this is a rather obscure TV project he did for the BBC some two decades ago. Though not very polished, it does have that early Boyle vibe, so fans of his work should definitely give it a go.
In order to get his girlfriend to stop stripping, Pete takes on a job as a vacuum salesman. He is partnered with Tommy, a cut-throat veteran who only cares about making sales. The annual award show is coming up, so Tommy on edge, showing Pete how he can cheat his way to success. Though Pete manages his first sale, his conscience gets the better of him.
Boyle's vibrant and energetic style is fully there, the budget and time for the necessary polish wasn't. Spall's extravagant performance makes up for that, so does the somewhat dark and juicy comedy, but the film never truly escapes its TV roots. It's a short and fun diversion that's certainly good for a couple of laughs and chuckles, but it probably would've worked better as a shorter film in an anthology like The Acid House.