People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan

Admittedly, this mockumentary might not work as well if you’ve never seen the BAFTA award-winning TV show (although there should still be plenty for new viewers to enjoy) – but for long-time fans, this is a comic masterpiece that can proudly sit alongside the very best TV-to-cinema comedy adaptions.

Premise: When Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry) learns that one of their songs is being used on a popular Japanese gameshow, he gathers the former Kurrupt FM boys – MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa), DJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin), Steves (Steve Stamp) and Decoy (Dan Sylvester) – for a meeting in Japan with the gameshow’s makers, who want to offer them a record deal.

Review:

I have to be upfront in saying that I’m a huge fan of the BAFTA award-winning BBC sitcom, People Just Do Nothing, and I was incredibly excited when I first heard that they were making a movie following on from the end of 2018’s fifth and final series. My review is therefore written from that perspective, but if you weren’t a fan of the original TV show (or if you’re not a fan of the mockumentary genre in general), then this may not necessarily be for you. That said, if you simply haven’t seen the TV show, this movie provides new viewers with all of the information you need to follow what’s going on (even if a lot of the in-jokes may be lost on you).

The premise is a relatively simple one: Kurrupt FM was a UK Garage pirate radio station run by MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa), a legend in his own mind, DJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin), Grindah’s loyal but not-too-bright sidekick, Steves (Steve Stamp), their spaced-out, drug-addled mate who let them use his nan’s flat as a radio studio, and Decoy (Dan Sylvester), the long-suffering voice of reason in the group. They were assisted by the incompetent manager-cum-entrepreneur Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry), and Grindah’s slightly oblivious, celebrity obsessed wife Miche (Lily Brazier). The final series of the TV show saw the end of Kurrupt FM, as Grindah and Miche were forced to move to Essex from their beloved Brentford.

“…the characters’ lack of self-awareness is the source of most of the comedy…”

This film continuation picks up things three years later, as Chabuddy G tries to get the gang back together with news that one of their songs has become an unexpected hit in Japan. What follows is a combination of a fish-out-of-water storyline, as the London boys adapt to life in Japan, and a be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable, as Grindah’s pursuit of fame begins to threaten his friendships with the rest of the group.

But as with most comedies, it’s not the plot that’s the main appeal, it’s the characters and the series of situations they get themselves into. Just as in the TV show, it’s the characters’ lack of self-awareness that is the source of most of the comedy, whether it’s Grindah’s bravado masking his myriad of insecurities, Miche’s desperate attempts to impress strangers over Instagram, or Steves’ obliviousness to the world around him. The film also finds space for cameos from some of the show’s supporting characters, including an appearance from Roche (Ruth Bratt) that probably won’t mean much to new viewers, but which stole the scene for me.

“…a touching & unexpectedly uplifting ode to friendship…”

Credit for the success of the film, just as with the TV show itself, has to go to the talented cast and writers. The script was written by Allan Mustafa and Steve Stamp (who play Grindah and Steves), with additional material written by Asim Chaudhry (Chabuddy G), Hugo Chegwin (Beats) and Lily Brazier (Miche), and it’s clear that they know these characters inside and out. Their talents as writers and performers shouldn’t be underestimated, because it takes a lot of intelligence to write and act as characters that are this self-unaware.

People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan is deserves to be remembered as one of the best ever British TV-comedy-to-movie transitions, alongside recent classics like Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. At the end of the day, it may only be an amusing couple of hours for new viewers – but for long-time fans, it’s not only a comedic masterpiece, but it’s also a touching and unexpectedly uplifting ode to friendship, and a surprisingly emotional swansong for these characters.